Carbon nanotube vs carbon nanofiber

TechnoPagan

I understand what a carbon nanotube is. I have some experience with geodesic domes and the way those shapes can be changed. I keep hearing more and more about carbon nanofibers but I've never seen it explained. Is a carbon nanofiber a bundle of nanotubes, chains of carbon particles or something different.

Thanks

ScannerFriend

I think carbon nanofibers are actually carbon nanontubes with imperfect cylindricity.

uby

perhaps my impression is incorrect, but, to me, a carbon nanotube can have atomic-scale dimensions (diameters up to, say a few nanometers) while a nanofiber is typically larger (diameters in the tens to hundreds of nanometers).

matchinu

Carbon nanofibers (CNFs), vapor grown carbon fibers (VGCFs), or vapor grown carbon nanofibers (VGCNFs) are cylindric nanostructures with graphene layers arranged as stacked cones, cups or plates.

Carbon nanofibers with graphene layers wrapped into perfect cylinders are called carbon nanotubes.

First sentancte of the wikipedia article on Carbon Nanofiber