1952

Radushkevich and Lukyanovich successfully synthesized hollow graphitic carbon fibers that are 50 nm in diameter. Their discovery was publish in the Soviet Journal of Physical Chemistry.

 

1960

Bollmann and Spreadborough analysed the friction properties of graphene rolled into sheets in their paper published in Nature. Pictures of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes were captured using the Electron Microscope.

 

1976

Oberlin, Endo and Koyama reported the growth of nanometer-scale carbon fibers by Chemical Vapor Deposition.

 

1987

A U.S. patent for graphitic, hollow core "fibrils" was issued by Howard G. Tennent of Hyperion Catalysis.

 

1991

Japanese researcher at NEC, Sumio Iijima, discovered nanotubes in the soot of arc discharge.

 

Al Harrington and Tom Maganas of Maganas Industries found nanotubes present in CVD. The discovery led to the development of a synthesis method for monomolecular thin film nanotube coatings.

 

1992

Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory, USA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and NEC Corporation first theorized the electrical properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes.

 

1993

Donald S. Bethune at IBM and Sumio Iijima at NEC independently synthesized single-wall carbon nanotubes and formulated synthesis methods involving the use of transition-metal catalysts.

 

1995

German researchers Till Keesmann and Hubert Grosse-Wilde predicted the electron emission properties of carbon nanotubes, which was subsequently demonstrated by Swiss researchers.

 

1997

Carbon nanotube single-electron transistors that are able to operate at low temperatures were synthesized by groups at UC Berkeley and Delft University.

Carbon nanotubes were proposed for use as optical antennas in the patent application of Robert Crowley.

 

1998

Groups at Delft University and IBM synthesized carbon nanotube field-effect transistors.

 

2000

Research first showed that bending a carbon nanotube affects its resistance.

 

2001

A method was developed for separating semiconducting and metallic carbon nanotubes.

 

2002

Multi-walled nanotubes were shown from research to be the fastest known oscillators.

 

2003

September — NEC reported stable fabrication technology for carbon nanotube transistors.

 

2004

March — Nature published a picture capturing a 4-cm long single-walled nanotube.

 

2005

May — A prototype high-definition 10-cm flat screen was manufactured with nanotubes.

August — University of California discovered Y-shaped nanotubes which were ready-made transistors.

August — An ideal carbon nanotube diode was developed by General Electric. A photovoltaic effect was also seen in the nanotube diode device that suggests the possibility of potential breakthroughs in solar cells to be more efficient and economically viable.

August — A nanotube sheet with dimensions 5 cm × 100 cm was successfully synthesised.

 

2006

March — An electronic circuit was created around a carbon nanotube by IBM.

March — Nanotubes were applied in medicine as a scaffold for regeneration of damaged nerves.

May — Technique of positioning a nanotube precisely was developed by IBM.

June — A gadget was invented by Rice University to sort nanotubes according to their size and electrical properties.

July — Carbon fiber bike with alloyed nanotubes proceeded to win the 2006 Tour de France.

 

2009

April — Nanotubes used in virus battery.

A single-walled carbon nanotube was grown by CVD across a 10-micrometer gap in a silicon chip. It then created a blackhole like effect on single atoms when applied in cold atom experiments.

 

2012

January — IBM synthesized 9 nm carbon nanotube transistors that have better electrical properties than silicon transistors

 

2013

January - Research team at Rice University reported in Science on the development of a new nanotech fiber. The fiber was manufactured with a process that can be applied on an industrial scale, and possesses excellent tensile strength, as well as electrical and thermal conductivity that is 10 times that of wet-spun CNT fibers.

September - Researchers built a Carbon nanotube computer.