Carbon materials play an extremely important role in our society. They not
only constitute the largest supply of energy we use today (i.e., coal) but also
are the bases of many important technologies ranging from pencils, adsorbents,
and metal strengtheners, to batteries and many others. Recent studies on
graphitic carbon, including fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and graphene, have
further revealed novel optical and electrical properties, making it possible to
use them for new applications in renewable energy as well as microelectronics.
Moreover, there are many novel and exciting phenomena in these materials such as
molecular magnetism, catalysis, many-body and relativistic quantum mechanics,
etc. Fundamental challenges associated with these materials have hindered our
ability to understand and exploit them for various applications. These include
precise structural control, characterization, and large-scale synthesis, which
require the collective efforts of scientists in multiple disciplines to
overcome. This conference will highlight the urgency for research on graphitic
carbon materials and gather scientists in physics, chemistry, and engineering to
tackle the challenges in this field. The conference will focus on scalable
synthesis, characterization, novel physical and electronic properties,
structure-properties relationship studies, and new applications of the carbon
materials. |