Carbon nanotube: Controlled synthesis determines its future

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have received broad attention in the past decades due to their excellent physical and chemical properties and thus been regarded as a powerful candidate for future star-materials. Although various CNT products and their related applications have been demonstrated recently, their performance can hardly meet the researchers’ expectations compared with their theoretical properties. The current predicament is caused by the immature synthesis method, including the basic science and the producing technology. As the synthesis with controlled structures determines its future, this review summarizes the progress on the basic research and industrialization of CNTs in the past decades, including the fine structure control, aggregation status design and scale-up production, and further points out the way for the future development of CNTs combining with specific applications.