Design and Control of Structure of Advanced Carbon Materials for Enhanced Performance: 374 (NATO Science Series E:) - Softcover

Reseña del editor

Carbon is unique in the range of structures and properties that are displayed by its material forms. The bonds in diamond, within the plane ofgraphite and in the fullerene molecules, C , are the strongest covalent bonds possible. This strong covalent bonding 60 leads to some exceptional intrinsic properties, examples ofwhich are: the greatest Young's modulus (in diamond, within the graphite plane and in single­ walled nanotubes) the highest room temperature thermal conductivity (in diamond and within the graphite plane) high hole mobility in doped diamond exceptional thermal stability ofthe structure in graphite It is because of the extreme thermal stability that such a wide range of materials is available. Atomic mobilities are low at all but the highest temperatures. Sintering, melting and casting ofcarbon are not feasible processing operations and carbon/graphite components are exclusively produced from the pyrolytic decomposition of organic precursors. The vast majority of engineering carbons have Sp2 type bonding and are related in some way to the structure of graphite. In the c-direction the bonding in graphite is of van der Waals character with the result that graphite is highly anisotropic in its properties and is probably unique in showing both the highest and lowest bond strengths in different directions in the same crystal.

Reseña del editor

The review of carbon materials here presented regards them as forming a continuous spectrum, varying in crystallinity and nano?, micro? and macro?texture. The structure?property relationships are discussed to examine how they can be controlled during different processing operations. Processing routes are described to see how they might be varied, modified or invented to meet he needs for new applications.
The following key questions are debated:

• What is intrinsically possible with carbon materials?
• How do we convert what is intrinsically possible into an engineering product that enhances our quality of life?
• How do we design and produce materials to satisfy the visions of the engineer?