Electric field-oriented growth of carbon nanotubes and Y-branches in a needle-pulsed arc discharge unit: mechanism of the production

Abstract

Carbon nano-onions, multiwall carbon nanotubes and Y-branched nanotubes are synthesised in a simple production apparatus. A pulsed plasma is generated by discharging a high voltage needle pulse between two graphite electrodes. A strong electric field is presented along anode and cathode electrodes. The pulse width is 0.3 μs. Acetone vapour, as a precursor, is introduced to the plasma through a graphite nozzle in the cathode assembly. A magnetic field, perpendicular to the plasma path, is provided. The possibility of carbon nanotube production through a short-pulsed arc discharge technique is investigated in this article. The results show that adding an electric field between electrodes prevents carbon ions’ dispersion, facilitates charge transferring between ions and electrodes, orients the growth of carbon nanotubes along the applied electric field and finally makes it possible to produce functionalised carbon nanoparticles such as Y-branch nanotubes and nanoknees. In this work, the growth mechanism of carbon nanotubes in a needle-pulsed arc-discharge reactor is discussed. And a possible explanation is provided for the synthesis of Y-branch carbon nanotubes. The products are examined by using scanning probe microscopy technique.