A review on potential applications of carbon nanotubes in marine current turbines

Marine current turbine is one of the promising marine renewable energy technologies that could provide clean and sustainable energy. This field has undergone rapid growth in both industry and academia during the last decade. However, there was no study being done in incorporating nanotechnology into marine current turbines. Carbon nanotubes, as one of the most studied nanomaterials, are a potential candidate to be incorporated into marine current turbines. This paper aims to review some of the researches done on carbon nanotubes to date, and proposed some potential applications in marine current turbines based on the review. The potential applications proposed are based on the need of marine current turbines. Apart from that, it also aims to act as a starting point to connect the two research areas (marine renewable energy and nanotechnology) together. The proposed applications include: structural reinforcement, fouling release coating, structural health monitoring, high performance wires/cables and lubrication. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.