Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs)

Researchers have printed an entire photodetector array by inkjet, using carbon nanotube and organic macrocycle hybrids to tell colors apart. The approach points to bendable optical sensors made without rigid silicon.

A company led by Cambridge PhD Liu Zhenyu is advancing carbon nanotube materials for lightweight applications.

Engineers at ICFO have developed a carbon nanotube device that achieves motion control at the quantum limit through ultrastrong coupling.

Vantablack, developed in Great Britain from carbon nanotubes, absorbs 99.965% of light, offering a potential solution to light pollution from satellite constellations like Starlink.

Researchers at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology have developed a room-temperature infrared phototransistor using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and lithium niobate (LiNbO3), achieving specific detectivities of up to 10^10 cm·Hz^1/2/W. This advancement in SWCNT-based pyroelectric phototransistors could lead to more affordable and portable IR sensing technologies, potentially transforming applications such as thermal imaging, environmental monitoring, and optical communications.

Researchers at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia have demonstrated that narrow-gap carbon nanotubes function as excitonic insulators, with exciton binding energy scaling inversely with tube radius. This finding is significant for the study of carbon nanotubes, as it reveals the potential for spontaneous exciton condensation, which could influence the electronic properties and applications of these materials in advanced carbon technologies.

Researchers from the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology have developed a new infrared sensor using single-walled carbon nanotubes, which shows a conductivity change 10,000 to 100,000 times more pronounced than graphene. This advancement could lead to more sensitive and compact thermal cameras and medical sensors, leveraging the unique properties of carbon nanotubes for enhanced infrared detection without the need for cooling.

Researchers at Peking University have developed the first all-carbon nanotube CFET digital logic circuits, achieving highly balanced electrical performance between p-type and n-type transistors. This advancement is significant for the future of carbon nanotube technology, as it introduces a new path for high-density computing architectures in artificial intelligence and edge computing applications.

Physicists at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg have demonstrated that carbon nanotori, specifically C₁₂₀, C₁₄₄, and C₁₆₈, can generate and control toroidal dipole moments, offering a third control channel for quantum computers with zero crosstalk. This discovery is significant for quantum computing as it introduces a new method for qubit control that is orthogonal to existing electric and magnetic control methods, potentially reducing errors caused by crosstalk in superconducting quantum processors.

Researchers at the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology have developed a sensor electrode using a composite material of graphene, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and gold nanoparticles that can detect pesticide residues at concentrations as low as parts per billion (ppb). This advancement is significant for the field of advanced carbon materials as it enhances the sensitivity and functionality of sensors, contributing to improved agricultural product monitoring and food safety.

Researchers from China and Russia have developed stretchable metasurfaces using single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) film, achieving dynamic terahertz wavefront manipulation at 0.35 THz. This advancement is significant for the development of smart, wearable THz components in 6G communication and intelligent sensing applications.

Researchers at the Netherlands Lattice Research (NLR) have demonstrated that entropy can facilitate charge separation in single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) by attaching a negatively charged dodecaborane structure. This finding could enhance the efficiency of carbon nanotube-based semiconductors, potentially impacting electronics and energy applications.

Researchers integrated carbon nanotubes into an on-chip topological photonic system to enable electrical tuning of photonic properties. This demonstrates a functional role for carbon nanotubes in reconfigurable photonic devices, expanding potential applications beyond electronics and conventional optical components.