Synthesis of well-aligned bamboo-like carbon nanotube arrays from ethanol and acetone

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We report on a novel and facile thermal chemical vapour deposition method for fabricating dense and vertically well-aligned bamboo-like carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays on a copper substrate from ethanol and acetone for the first time. The effect of growth time, temperature and catalysts has been systematically studied. Using ethanol as the carbon source, well-aligned CNTs were produced at 800 °C, and random, long and large carbon fibres/tubes were formed at 900 °C. When acetone was used, mushroom-like carbon nanostructures were formed at 800 °C, and well-aligned CNTs were produced at 850 °C. In contrast, large amounts of random carbon micro-fibres were formed at 800 °C using ethanol as the carbon source when Fe or Ni was employed as the substrate. The electrochemical properties of the novel mushroom-like carbon nanostructures are presented; the growth mechanisms for the formation of the bamboo-like CNTs and the mushroom-like carbon nanostructures are discussed.