碳纳管是由日本nec公司的电子显微镜专家sumiolijima在1991年发现的，当时他在研究合成富氏碳分子（由纯碳原子组成的铁丝笼状结构的分子）工艺过程中沉积的残余物。

• Carbon nanotubes were discovered by electron microscopist Sumio Lijima at NEC Corp. in Japan in 1991, when he was investigating the residue deposited during a process that synthesized fullerenes (a molecular form of pure carbon noted for its cagelike structures).