The correct answer is (a) Fuller.
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are a form of carbon with a cylindrical nanostructure. They are composed of rolled-up sheets of graphene, which is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice. CNTs have a wide range of potential applications in nanotechnology, electronics, and materials science.
The first CNTs were discovered in 1991 by Sumio Iijima, a Japanese scientist working at NEC Corporation. Iijima was studying soot produced by arc discharge between carbon electrodes and observed that the soot contained long, thin, cylindrical particles. He named these particles “buckytubes” after Buckminster Fuller, the American architect who designed geodesic domes.
In 1993, Richard Smalley, Robert Curl, and Harold Kroto, three American scientists, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their discovery of fullerenes, a class of molecules that includes buckminsterfullerene (C60). Fullerenes are spherical or ellipsoidal molecules composed of carbon atoms arranged in a cage-like structure.
The discovery of fullerenes led to the discovery of CNTs. In 1995, Donald Bethune, a Canadian scientist working at IBM Almaden Research Center, and his colleagues were able to synthesize CNTs by laser ablation of graphite. This method of synthesis is still used today to produce CNTs.
CNTs have a wide range of potential applications in nanotechnology, electronics, and materials science. They are being studied for use in a variety of applications, including:
- Electronics: CNTs can be used to make transistors, solar cells, and other electronic devices.
- Materials science: CNTs can be used to make composites, coatings, and other materials.
- Nanotechnology: CNTs can be used to make nanodevices, nanosensors, and other nanoscale structures.
CNTs are a promising new material with a wide range of potential applications. They are still in the early stages of development, but they have the potential to revolutionize a variety of industries.