Coal tar the European Chemicals Agency. The exact mechanism of action is unknown. Coal tar is a complex mixture of phenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and heterocyclic compounds. It is a keratolytic agent, which reduces the growth rate of skin cells and softens the skin's keratin. Coal tar is produced through thermal destruction (pyrolysis) of coal. Its composition varies with the process and type of coal used – lignite, bituminous or anthracite. Coal tar contains approximately 10,000 chemicals, of which only about 50% have been identified. Components include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (4-rings: chrysene, fluoranthene, pyrene, triphenylene, naphthacene, benzanthracene, 5-rings: picene, benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[e]pyrene,
Carbon nanotube carbon (amorphous carbon, fullerene, etc.) and non-carbonaceous impurities (metal pes used for catalyst). These impurities need to be removed to make use of the carbon nanotubes in applications. There are many metrology standards and reference materials available for carbon nanotubes. For single-wall carbon nanotubes, ISO/TS 10868 describes a measurement method for the diameter, purity, and fraction of metallic nanotubes through optical absorption spectroscopy, while ISO/TS 10797 and ISO/TS 10798 establish methods to characterize the morphology and elemental composition of single-wall carbon nanotubes, using transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy respectively, coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry analysis. NIST SRM