Synthesis and characterization of well-aligned carbon nitrogen nanotubes by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition

Abstract

Well-aligned carbon nitrogen nanotube films have been synthesized successfully on mesoporous silica substrates by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MWPCVD) method. Studies on their morphology, structure, and composition by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), respectively, indicate that these nanotubes consist of linearly polymerized carbon nitrogen nanobells, and the nitrogen atoms have been doped into carbon netweork to form a new structure C1−x N x (x=0.16±0.01). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results of the samples further demonstrate that carbon bonds covalently with nitrogen in all the carbon nitrogen nanotube films.