Systematic Studies on Carbon Nanotubes Synthesis from Aliphatic Alcohols by the CVD Floating Catalyst Method

Systematic studies on carbon nanotubes synthesis from aliphatic alcohols by a floating catalyst chemical vapour deposition (CVD) route are presented. Solutions of eight aliphatic alcohols (from methanol to decanol) saturated with ferrocene (as the catalyst source) were pyrolysed in a tubular furnace under flowing argon at temperature of 850C. Single-walled carbon nanotubes were obtained from alcohols containing one to six carbon atoms, while carbon feedstocks with longer carbon chains yielded primarily multi-walled carbon nanotubes and carbon-encapsulated magnetic nanoparticles. It was found that the pyrolysis of alcohols containing four to five carbon atoms results in the highest purity of single-walled nanotubes. The length of carbon chain in alcohol molecules also influenced the product crystallinity. The optimum length of the carbon chain was derived from additional thermodynamic calculations.