Synthesis of carbon nanofibers by ethanol catalytic combustion technique

A general, simple and economic synthetic method for synthesizing carbon nanofibers was presented. In the method, ethanol was employed as carbon source; metal salts such as nickel nitrate, ferric nitrate and ferric chloride were used as catalyst precursor respectively; copper plate was employed as the support material. A lot of products were obtained by catalytic combustion deposition of ethanol vapor. Then the as-prepared carbon nanofibers were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy and selected-area electron diffractometry. By analyzing the results of characterization, the conclusions are as follows: 1) the large catalyst particles tend to form large-diameter CNFs, small catalyst particles are inclinable to form small-diameter CNFs; 2) the morphology of the catalyst can affect the final morphology of the CNFs. Moreover, the possible growth mechanisms were proposed and the degree of graphitization of samples was estimated by Raman spectroscopy characterization.

Growth of straight carbon nanotubes by simple thermal chemical vapor deposition

Straight carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were achieved by simple thermal chemical vapor deposition(STCVD) catalyzed by Mo-Fe alloy catalyst on silica supporting substrate at 700℃. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy images show that the straight CNTs are well graphitized with no attached amorphous carbon. Mo-Fe alloy catalyst particles play a very crucial role in the growth of straight CNTs. The straight carbon nanotubes contain much less defects than the curved nanotubes and might have potential applications for nanoelectrical devices in the future. The simple synthesis of straight CNTs may have benefit for large-scale productions.

Electrical measurement on individual multi-walled carbon nanotubes

The characterization of electrical property of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on a nanometer scale is essential for their potential application in nano-electronic devices. The MWCNTs were synthesized on Fe2O3/SiO2/Si substrate and Pt plate substrate by simple thermal chemical vapor deposition (STCVD) technique and the electrical measurements of individual MWCNT grown on silicon substrate and Pt plate substrate were performed by home-made 'nano-manipulator', respectively. According to current-voltage curves obtained in the experiments the current density that the MWCNTs can carry is calculated to be about 107 A/cm2, which is much larger than that of normal metals.

Synthesis of Y-junction carbon nanofibres by ethanol catalytic combustion technique

Y-shaped structure was synthesized by ethanol catalytic combustion(ECC) technique on the copper plate substrate, without directly seeding catalyst into the flame. The as-grown Y-junction carbon nanofibres were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The very common laboratory ethanol burner was used for synthesizing carbon nanofibres. Two kinds of the catalyst precursor, which are iron nitrate (Fe(NO3)3) and nickel nitrate (Ni(NO3)2), were respectively employed to assist the formation of Y-junction carbon nanofibres. TEM analysis confirm the formation of Y-junction in the coiled and noncoiled carbon nanofibres. The type of the catalyst is found to be crucial to grow different Y-junction carbon nanofibres. Different Y-shaped structure may possess different mechanical and electronic properties. These three-terminal nanofibres provide the nanoelectronics community with a novel material for the development of molecular-scale electronic devices.

Synthesis of bamboo-like carbon nanotubes by ethanol catalytic combustion technique

Bamboo-like carbon nanotubes were synthesized by ethanol catalytic combustion (ECC) technique with combustion method. Copper plate was employed as substrate, ethanol as carbon source, and iron chloride as catalyst precursor. The as-grown black powder was characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The results show that the thinner bamboo-like carbon nanotubes have a relatively good structure that the compartment layers are more regular, while the thicker carbon nanotubes have a relatively irregular bamboo-like structure; the proposed method is simple to synthesize bamboo-like carbon nanotubes and has some advantages, such as flexible synthesis conditions, simple setup, and environment-friendly.

Preparation of carbon nanotubes by ethanol catalytic combustion technique using nickel salt as catalyst precursor

A simple growth technique of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by combustion of ethanol was developed. In the experiment, copper plate was employed as substrate, nickel nitrate (Ni(NO3)2) and nickel chloride (NiCl2) as catalyst precursor, and ethanol as carbon source. The cleaned copper substrate was dipped into catalyst precursor solution for mounting catalyst precursor particles. The dip-coated substrate was then placed into ethanol flame for about 10 min after drying. The black wool-like production grown on copper plate was obtained. This route is called an ethanol catalytic combustion(ECC) process. The black powders were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy(SEM), transmission electron microscopy(TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer(EDS) and Raman spectroscopy. The results show that the techique is much simpler and more economical to meet the future broader applications.

Effects of catalyst precursors on carbon nanowires by using ethanol catalytic combustion technique

Iron nitrate, nickel nitrate and cobalt nitrate were used as catalyst precursors to study their effects on carbon nanowires synthesized by ethanol catalytic combustion (ECC) process. The as-grown carbon nanowires were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The results show that relatively uniform nanowires will be formed when the catalyst precursor is iron nitrate; while helical structure or disordered structure will be formed when the catalyst precursor is nickel nitrate or cobalt nitrate.

Selective growth of carbon nanotube on silicon substrates

The carbon nanotube (CNT) growth of iron oxide-deposited trench-patterns and the locally-ordered CNT arrays on silicon substrate were achieved by simple thermal chemical vapor deposition(STCVD) of ethanol vapor. The CNTs were uniformly synthesized with good selectivity on trench-patterned silicon substrates. This fabrication process is compatible with currently used semiconductor-processing technologies, and the carbon-nanotube fabrication process can be widely applied for the development of electronic devices using carbon-nanotube field emitters as cold cathodes and can revolutionize the area of field-emitting electronic devices. The site-selective growth of CNT from an iron oxide nanoparticle catalyst patterned were also achieved by drying-mediated self-assembly technique. The present method offers a simple and cost-effective method to grow carbon nanotubes with self-assembled patterns.