Colossal carbon tubes (CCTs) are a tubular form of

carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon mak ...

. In contrast to the carbon nanotubes (CNTs), colossal carbon tubes have much larger diameters ranging between 40 and 100 μm. Their walls have a corrugated structure with abundant pores, as in corrugated fiberboard, where the solid membranes have a graphite-like layered structure. CCTs have technologically attractive properties such as ultra light-weight, extremely high strength, excellent

ductility Ductility is a mechanical property commonly described as a material's amenability to drawing (e.g. into wire). In materials science, ductility is defined by the degree to which a material can sustain plastic deformation under tensile str ...

and high

conductivity Conductivity may refer to: *Electrical conductivity, a measure of a material's ability to conduct an electric current **Conductivity (electrolytic), the electrical conductivity of an electrolyte in solution ** Ionic conductivity (solid state), ele ...

- which make them possibly suitable for clothing. They are excellent (10⁵ siemens per metre) electrical conductors, are 15 times stronger than the strongest

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

(T1000), have 30 times the tenacity of

Kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s a ...

and are 224 times stronger than individual cotton fibers. The tubes exhibit an ultra low density comparable to that of

carbon nanofoam Carbon nanofoam is an allotrope of carbon discovered in 1997 by Andrei V. Rode and co-workers at the Australian National University in Canberra. It consists of a cluster-assembly of carbon atoms strung together in a loose three-dimensional web. Th ...

s. CCTs have a

tensile strength Ultimate tensile strength (UTS), often shortened to tensile strength (TS), ultimate strength, or F_\text within equations, is the maximum stress that a material can withstand while being stretched or pulled before breaking. In brittle materials t ...

of 7 GPa, and a high

specific strength The specific strength is a material's (or muscle's) strength (force per unit area at failure) divided by its density. It is also known as the strength-to-weight ratio or strength/weight ratio or strength-to-mass ratio. In fiber or textile applic ...

(tensile strength per density), and a breaking length of 6,000 km. This exceeds the specific strength of the strongest carbon nanotube; this strength is sufficient to support a

space elevator A space elevator, also referred to as a space bridge, star ladder, and orbital lift, is a proposed type of planet-to-space transportation system, often depicted in science fiction. The main component would be a cable (also called a space tethe ...

if retained in a fabricated macroscale structure. CCTs conduct electricity and show some of the properties of

semiconductor A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical conductivity value falling between that of a conductor, such as copper, and an insulator, such as glass. Its resistivity falls as its temperature rises; metals behave in the opposite way. ...

References

External links

Colossal carbon nanotubes could replace cotton fibers for high-tech clothing

{{Allotropes of carbon Allotropes of carbon Carbon nanotubes