Carbon alloys Original Research Article

The Japanese carbon group proposed a new concept of ‘Carbon Alloys’ in 1992, based on an understating that actual carbon materials are alloys of carbon atoms with sp1, sp2, sp3 bonding, hydrogen and another elements, and that the variety of carbon materials must be caused from the effects of alloying. This concept has been accepted in the Carbon Society of Japan (CSJ) and a research meeting organization was established in the CSJ. The Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture has selected ‘Carbon Alloys’ as a priority area for a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research in Japan. In this paper, an outline of this project’s concepts and the approach to ‘Carbon Alloys’ are described for introducing one of the trends in carbon research in Japan.