21st Asia Pacific Nanotechnology Congress

Nano Tubes and Nano wires

A nanotube is nanometer-scale tube-like structures, which are also known as nanowires, in terms of feature ratio; but unlike wires, tubes are hollow. Nanotubes maybe single-walled or multi-walled. These wires are in 1D nanostructure which generally has diameters of the tens in order of nanometers, with unrestricted length scales. The length to diameter ratio may be as much as 1000. Nanowires and nanotubes are now at the forefront of materials science at the Nano scale. This article starts with introductory comments about nanowires and nanotubes and then addresses in more detail the special structure and properties of bismuth nanowires and carbon nanotubes, which are considered as prototype examples of nanowires and nanotubes. Both Nano-materials are important for the new Nano science concepts that they introduce and for their promise for practical applications. Both provide a system that is simple enough so that detailed calculations of their properties can be carried out, and predictions about their physical behavior can be made. The occurrence and control of unusual and unique properties of specific nanostructures are the drivers for the exploitation of Nano science in nanotechnology applications.