It is well known that solid carbons can be found in various guises with different forms of bulk phases (graphites, diamonds and carbynes) as well as more molecular forms (fullerenes,nanotubes and graphenes) resulting from recent discoveries.

The cause of this rich polymorphism is analyzed in the first part of this book (chapters 1-5) with the propensity of carbon atoms for forming different types of homopolar chemical bonds associated with variable coordination numbers. Precursor organic molecules and parent compounds are also described to establish specific links with this rich polymorphism.

Then in a second part (chapters 6-10) a comparative review of the main classes of bulk physical properties is presented. This approach emphasizes in particular the electronic behavior of (pi) polyaromatic systems organized in plane and curved atomic sheets. Finally in a third part (chapters 11-15) the surface and interface characteristics are introduced together with the texture and morphology of these multiscale carbon materials. An overview of the main field of applications is related showing the large use and interest for these solids.

Pierre Delhaes is an emeritus research director at the Paul Pascal research center, CNRS and University of Bordeaux, France. He was President of the French Carbon group (1994-2000) and the first spokesman of the European Carbon Association.