What is the problem with carbon nanotubes?

However, with a diameter on the nanoscale and a highly elongated form, this extremely small particle can constitute a health risk. “There are concerns, among others, that carbon nanotubes may lead to mesothelioma, a cancer form that previously has been associated only with asbestos,” says Sofie Högberg.

What is the difference between carbon nanotubes and carbon nanofibers?

Carbon nanotubes can be single-walled, but also multi-walled, but are those having the lowest diameter and the most defectless structure. Carbon nanofibres are much bigger, thus sometimes loose the concentrical structure, and also they can have a number of defects which are mostly absent from nanotubes.

What are carbon nanotubes used for?

As of 2013, carbon nanotube production exceeded several thousand tons per year, used for applications in energy storage, device modelling, automotive parts, boat hulls, sporting goods, water filters, thin-film electronics, coatings, actuators and electromagnetic shields.

What is carbon nanofiber used for?

Abstract. Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) are promising materials in many fields, such as photocatalytic, nanocomposites, energy devices, filtration, sensors, tissue engineering, and drug delivery. Chemical vapor deposition, electrospinning, templating, drawing, and phase separation are the essential routes to synthesize CNFs …

Are nanotubes and nanofibers the same?

Other definitions used today are that highly crys- tallized tubular structures are nanotubes whereas defective ones are nanofibers, or tubular structures ∼20 nm or below in diameter are nanotubes but larger diameter filaments are fibers.

Are carbon nanotubes like asbestos?

During the study, led by the Queen’s Medical Research Institute at the University of Edinburgh/MRC Center for Inflammation Research (CIR) in Scotland, scientists observed that long, thin carbon nanotubes look and behave like asbestos fibers, which have been shown to cause mesothelioma , a deadly cancer of the membrane …