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

Abstract

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.