Definitions
-Fullerenes are molecules composed of carbon in the shape of hollow
spheres, or ellipsoids; fullerenes in a cyllindrical for are called nanotubes.
Properties
-High tensile strength
-High electrical conductivity
-High ductility
-High resistance to heat
-Due to the lack of surface exposure they have relatively no chemical reactivity
-Fullerenes are molecules composed of carbon in the shape of hollow
spheres, or ellipsoids; fullerenes in a cyllindrical for are called nanotubes.
Properties
-High tensile strength
-High electrical conductivity
-High ductility
-High resistance to heat
-Due to the lack of surface exposure they have relatively no chemical reactivity
Applications
A potential application is to aid firefighters, who now wear protective masks containing copper-manganese-oxide. That material's effectiveness at getting rid of CO, however, lasts only 15 minutes, while nanogold protects for several hours. One such reaction is the conversion of carbon-monoxide (CO)
to carbon-dioxide (CO2). Nanogold catalyzes this at room temperature and with 100-percent efficiency.
Resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fullerene
http://cnst.rice.edu/
