6. Glossary

Allotropic forms of carbon

Carbon is an element that exists in various crystalline forms, such as hexagonal graphite, rhombohedral graphite, hexagonal or cubic diamond, and the various forms of nanocarbons (nanotubes, fullerenes, etc.). The most thermodynamically stable form of carbon is hexagonal graphite, towards which all other forms tend to evolve, even if transformation kinetics can be infinitely slow under normal temperature and pressure conditions.

SWNT; Single Wall NanoTube

Single-sheet carbon nanotube, conceptually represented by a graphene sheet folded on itself to form a cylinder.

HiPCO; High Pressure dismutation of CO

High-pressure decomposition of CO.

Process for the synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) by catalytic...