What is the Difference Between Buckyballs and Nanotubes

The key difference between buckyballs and nanotubes is that buckyballs have globular structures with carbon atoms having three bonds with each other, whereas nanotubes are tubular structures with three bonds between carbon atoms.

Both Buckyballs and nanotubes are nanoscale structures. The term buckyballs refers to Buckminsterfullerene. Nanotubes are a type of tube made of carbon atoms, and these tubes have diameters typically measured in nanometers.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What are Buckyballs
3. What are Nanotubes
4. Similarities – Buckyballs and Nanotubes
5. Buckyballs vs Nanotubes in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Buckyballs vs Nanotubes

What are Buckyballs?

The term buckyballs refers to Buckminsterfullerene. It is a type of fullerene with the chemical formula C60. This substance is a cage-like fused-ring structure that tends to resemble a football because it is made of 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons. This structure has carbon atoms with three bonds between them. Buckyballs appear as black solids that tend to dissolve in hydrocarbon solvents, producing a violet solution.

Buckyballs occur naturally as fullerene. We can find small quantities of Buckyballs in soot. Moreover, it exists in space, in planetary nebulae, and in some stars. Theoretically, this substance was first predicted in the 1960s and 1970s. It was first generated in 1984 by Eric Rohfing, Donald Cox, and Andrew Kaldor. They used a laser to vaporize carbon in a supersonic helium beam.

It is a stable molecule that can withstand high temperatures and high pressures. It was the largest known molecule observed to exhibit wave-particle duality until 2020. The solution of Buckyballs typically has a deep purple color. It leaves a brown residue when evaporated. This color change occurs because of the relatively narrow energy width of the band of molecular levels that is responsible for green light absorbed by individual C-60 molecules. Moreover, the substance is sparingly soluble in aromatic solvents and carbon disulfide. But it is insoluble in water.

What are Nanotubes?

Nanotubes are a type of tube made of carbon atoms, and these tubes have diameters typically measured in nanometers. There are two types of nanotubes as single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and multi-wall carbon nanotubes ( MWCNTs).

The SWCNTs can be described as an allotrope of carbon that is an intermediate between fullerene and flat graphene. We can idealize these nanotubes as cutouts from a 2D hexagonal lattice of carbon atoms that are rolled up along one of the Bravais lattice vectors of the hexagonal lattice, forming a hollow cylinder.

On the other hand, MWCNTs consist of nested single-wall carbon nanotubes that are weakly bound together through Van der Waals interactions in a tree-like ring structure. Sometimes, we can refer to them as double- and triple-wall carbon nanotubes.

There is a remarkable electrical conductivity provided by carbon nanotubes. Moreover, they exhibit exceptional tensile strength and thermal conductivity. This is because of the nanostructure and strength of the bonds between carbon atoms. Additionally, we can chemically modify nanotubes.

What are the Similarities Between Buckyballs and Nanotubes?

1. Buckyballs and nanotubes are in the nanoscale.
2. Both have carbon atoms with three bonds (two single bonds and one double bond).

What is the Difference Between Buckyballs and Nanotubes?

Both Buckyballs and nanotubes are nanoscale structures. The key difference between buckyballs and nanotubes is that buckyballs have globular structures with carbon atoms having three bonds with each other, whereas nanotubes are tubular structures with two single bonds and one double bond between each carbon atom.

The below infographic presents the differences between buckyballs and nanotubes in tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Buckyballs vs Nanotubes

Both Buckyballs and nanotubes are nanoscale structures. The term buckyballs refers to Buckminsterfullerene. Nanotubes are a type of tube made of carbon atoms, and these tubes have diameters typically measured in nanometers. The key difference between buckyballs and nanotubes is that buckyballs have globular structures with carbon atoms having three bonds with each other, whereas nanotubes are tubular structures with two single bonds and one double bond between each carbon atom.

Reference:

1. “Fullerene Bonding Type – Buckyballs Structure & Properties.” MSTnano.com.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Buckminsterfullerene-perspective-3D-balls“By Benjah-bmm27 – Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Carbon-nanotube-naming-scheme” (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia