Carbon nanotube–nanocrystal heterostructures

The importance of generating carbon nanotube–nanoparticle heterostructures is that these composites ought to take advantage of and combine the unique physical and chemical properties of both carbon nanotubes and nanoparticles in one discrete structure. These materials have potential applicability in a range of diverse fields spanning heterogeneous catalysis to optoelectronic device development, of importance to chemists, physicists, materials scientists, and engineers. In this critical review, we present a host of diverse, complementary strategies for the reliable synthesis of carbon nanotube–nanoparticle heterostructures using both covalent as well as non-covalent protocols, incorporating not only single-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotubes but also diverse classes of metallic and semiconducting nanoparticles (221 references).