Greetings,
This post continues with yet another form of carbon, the nanotube. Nanotubes, literally, are nanometer width tubes with walls made from fused hexagonal rings. There is a notable connection between the nanotube and the graphite form of carbon: The nanotube wall is the same structure found within the "sheets" of graphite. An earlier post focused on properties and uses of nanotubes. Here, structure is briefly discussed; along with a cool nanotube animation, below. Just click the image to start and stop the animation!(1, 2, 3)
Various diameter and length nanotubes are found in the soot residue of coal-fired plant processes. Different sizes and varieties of nanotube can be synthesized in a lab depending on the desired properties and use.
The animated image above is a hypothetical very short nanotube, designed for easy 3-d viewing. It consists of a "zig-zag" fused ring boundary(4) and is about 8 angstroms (0.8 nanometer) wide. The structure is remarkably stable, due to its sp-2 hybridized orbitals allowing a single p-atomic orbital for each carbon atom. The p-atomic orbitals are perpendicular to an imaginary 2-d plane oriented tangentially at each carbon atom. Pi-bonding (side-to-side p-orbital overlap) occurs which strengthens the (much stronger) sigma bonding at the nanotube surface. See the diagram below.
So, there you have it; another carbon allotrope, the nanotube! This concludes the post series on "Allotropes of Carbon". This blog will continue with posts on hydrocarbon structures consisting of double bonds between carbon atoms (Alkenes & Aromatics).
Thank you, again, for reading.
References
1. Rendering of the nanotube structure and raw frame files using Gabedit:
Gabedit—A graphical user interface for computational chemistry softwares.
3. Editing and publishing of the nanotube animation: https://www.wevideo.com/media
4. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_nanotube
A Publication of http://ExcellenceInLearning.biz
This post continues with yet another form of carbon, the nanotube. Nanotubes, literally, are nanometer width tubes with walls made from fused hexagonal rings. There is a notable connection between the nanotube and the graphite form of carbon: The nanotube wall is the same structure found within the "sheets" of graphite. An earlier post focused on properties and uses of nanotubes. Here, structure is briefly discussed; along with a cool nanotube animation, below. Just click the image to start and stop the animation!(1, 2, 3)
Various diameter and length nanotubes are found in the soot residue of coal-fired plant processes. Different sizes and varieties of nanotube can be synthesized in a lab depending on the desired properties and use.
The animated image above is a hypothetical very short nanotube, designed for easy 3-d viewing. It consists of a "zig-zag" fused ring boundary(4) and is about 8 angstroms (0.8 nanometer) wide. The structure is remarkably stable, due to its sp-2 hybridized orbitals allowing a single p-atomic orbital for each carbon atom. The p-atomic orbitals are perpendicular to an imaginary 2-d plane oriented tangentially at each carbon atom. Pi-bonding (side-to-side p-orbital overlap) occurs which strengthens the (much stronger) sigma bonding at the nanotube surface. See the diagram below.
So, there you have it; another carbon allotrope, the nanotube! This concludes the post series on "Allotropes of Carbon". This blog will continue with posts on hydrocarbon structures consisting of double bonds between carbon atoms (Alkenes & Aromatics).
Thank you, again, for reading.
References
1. Rendering of the nanotube structure and raw frame files using Gabedit:
Gabedit—A graphical user interface for computational chemistry softwares.
Allouche, A.-R. ,
Journal of Computational Chemistry, 32 (2011) 174–182. doi: 10.1002/jcc.21600
2. Conversion of nanotube raw frame files to a single .gif image file using GIMP (the GNU Image Manipulation Program): http://wiki.gimp.org/wiki/Main_Page3. Editing and publishing of the nanotube animation: https://www.wevideo.com/media
4. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_nanotube
A Publication of http://ExcellenceInLearning.biz
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