The Systematic Synthesis of Carbon Nanotubes from Aliphatic-Aromatic Compound Mixture Resolves Growth Uniformity and Production Complexity

Abstract

Nanomaterials exhibit interesting physical properties distinct from both the molecular and broad scales, presenting new opportunities for physico-chemical as well as biomedical researches and applications in various areas of chemistry, biology and medicine. The unique chemical, physical and mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes have stimulated extensive investigation since their discovery in early 1990s by Iijima. Although there have been tremendous advances in the fabrication of CNTs, the integration of these nanostructures into successful applications and large-scale production processes are yet not very smooth. The present research interest focuses on the development of simple and effective way for the synthesis of carbon nanotubes and proposes the new idea of the organic bulk method. Aliphatic-aromatic compound mixture was used as carbon sources. The carbon nanotubes thus produced were very uniform in size and shape.