ABSTRACT

Since the 1990s, fibrous carbon nanostructures, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and carbon nanofibers (CNFs), have proven to be one of the most versatile materials used in the field of engineering, science, and medicine. Carbon nanostructures have made broad and significant societal impacts, from enhancing the properties of material composites and miniaturizing electronics to providing more efficient means of storing energy and facilitating the early detection and treatment of diseases. It is this diversity and versatility of carbon nanostructures that make them attractive and versatile for various applications: they are nanoscopic in size, have high length-to-width and surface-to-volume ratio, can have a hollow core, are chemically inert to many reagents but can be easily modified to possess different surface chemistry, are mechanically robust, and have conducting or semiconducting and unique optical properties. This diversity enables intelligent design and precise tailoring of the carbon structure and properties to suit a certain application.