Fullerenes are carbon molecules that come in spherical, ellipsoid, or cylindrical arrangements. They were discovered in 1985 and named after Richard Buckminster Fuller. Fullerenes possess unique properties, including superconductivity and high tensile strength. They can be produced using a variety of techniques and have potential applications in materials science and computer technology. The term “nanotechnology” is sometimes misused to refer to the creation of fullerenes, which is not the same as the original concept of molecular nanotechnology proposed by Richard Feynman.
Fullerenes are a form of carbon molecule that is neither graphite nor diamond. They consist of a spherical, ellipsoid, or cylindrical arrangement of dozens of carbon atoms. Fullerenes are named after Richard Buckminster Fuller, an architect known for designing geodesic domes that resemble spherical fullerenes in appearance. A spherical fullerene looks like a soccer ball and is often called “buckyballs”, while cylindrical fullerenes are known as “buckytubes” or “nanotubes”.
Fullerenes were discovered as an unexpected surprise during laser spectroscopy experiments at Rice University in September 1985. The 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Professors Robert F. Curl, Jr., Richard E. Smalley and Sir Harold W Kroto for their discovery. Fullerene molecules are made up of 60, 70 or more carbon atoms, unlike diamond and graphite, the more familiar forms of carbon.
Fullerenes occur naturally only in small quantities, but several techniques have been suggested to produce them in larger volumes. Modern technique uses a benzene flame to produce fullerenes. Other techniques include vaporization of graphite rods and catalytic chemical vapor deposition from ethanol vapor.
The fullerene family of carbon molecules possess a range of unique properties. A fullerene nanotube has a tensile strength about 20 times that of high-strength steel alloys and a density half that of aluminum. Carbon nanotubes demonstrate superconducting properties and individual nanotubes up to 4 centimeters long have been synthesized. There are a number of companies to develop nanotubes for commercial applications, including computer memory, electronic cables, and materials science. Nanotubes could one day be used to create futuristic computers not possible with conventional lithographic techniques.
Nanotubes have been at the center of the buzz surrounding the emerging field of “nanotechnology.” The association is sometimes misleading; When physicist Richard Feynman originally proposed building manufacturing systems that assemble products at the molecular level (“molecular nanotechnology”), he was talking about tiny systems of manufacturing machines, not the creation of exotic nanoscale materials such as fullerenes using chemical techniques on macroscale. A tiny factory built entirely of fullerenes would qualify as molecular nanotechnology, but fullerenes alone would not. This is a critical distinction often overlooked by some academics, venture capitalists and technologists who like to use the word “nanotechnology” as a tool to attract funding or attention.
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