Carbon nanotubes. Materials for the 21st century?

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are considered the material of the 21st century. Due to their unique physical, mechanical and electronic properties, applications and products in almost every industrial sector were postulated shortly after their discovery, as well as improvements to their production techniques. CNTs appear to have drawn the attention of both academia and the industry. Meanwhile, some products are already available, ranging, amongst others, from composites, sensors, supercapacitors, electronic devices, and field emitters right up to biomedical applications. However, there are certain challenges that need adequate attention before CNT-based devices can be realized on a large scale on the commercial market. While the production, especially of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNT), is nowadays being performed on industrial dimensions, processing of the CNTs remains a challenge due to their inert and hydrophobic nature. Besides this, a lot of time and money is being invested in an early risk assessment and toxicological evaluation along with the ongoing product development