Carbon nanotubes

    Carbon nanotubes were discovered in 1991 and consist of elongated cages, best thought of as rolled graphite-like sheets, i.e. in contrast to the fullerenes, nanotubes consist of networks of fused 6-membered rings. Nanotubes are very flexible and have great potential in materials science. As a result, research in this area is a ‘hot topic’ but is beyond the scope of this book; the end-of-chapter reading list provides an entry into the area.