Abstract:
This thesis presents the diverse applications of carbon nanostructures which are rich
in surface functional groups like –COOH, -CHO and –OH and are derived from glucose by
hydrothermal route. Unlike other carbon materials, they do not require any further chemical
treatment to functionalize the surface. The synthesis does not involve any toxic reagents and
therefore can be applied to various applications in biology too.
The chapter 1 introduces the carbon nanostructures, their properties and mechanistic
studies that have been performed by us and other workers in this field. Further the use of
functional carbon nanostructures as templates to prepare various inorganic hollow structures
has been described in this chapter. Chapter 2 deals in detail the synthesis of functionalized
carbon nanotubes from glucose and their templating action in obtaining GaN nanotube
brushes. Coating of inorganic nanostructures like Fe3O4 and silica with functional carbon
nanostructure has also been discussed. Chapter 3 describes the synthesis of single crystalline
α-Fe2O3 nanocups using spherical carbon nanostructures as template. The cup-like
morphology was obtained from spherical structure through buckling process and their
magnetic properties showed shape dependent behaviour. Chapter 4 investigates the use of
carbon spheres to make macro-mesoporous bioactive glass and its influence in the growth of
hydroxyapatite nanocrystals. The enrichment of calcium and phosphate ions on the surfaces
of carbon spheres by their functional groups and the generation of local heat during their
calcinations help to promote the formation of hydroxyapatite nanocrystals in the assynthesized
bioactive glass. The results could have implications in bone implant materials.
The interaction of carbon spheres with the cells, their mechanism of entry, preference to the
nucleus of the mammalian cell and cytotoxicity in the context of delivering a therapeutic
molecule are the contents of chapter 5. Chapter 6 is a slight deviation from the main stream
work on materials although the common theme carbon is still the focus. In this chapter,
V
attempts were made to convert naturally available, inorganic carbon source namely
carbonates into methane in the presence of transition metals and metal oxides as catalysts.
