Minghui Li

Direct Synthesis of Carbon Nanotubes at Low Temperature by the Reaction of CCl4 and Ferrocene

Islands-like amorphous carbon nanotubes (a-CNTs) and multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have been synthesized by the reaction of CCl4 and ferrocene without or with Co/N alloy as growth catalyst at 160 and 350 oC, respectively. The as-obtained products are characterized by FESEM, TEM, HRTEM, Raman spectroscopy, and nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis. The results show that a-CNTs have an outer diameter around 450 nm and a length of up to 5 μm, whereas MWCNTs are 20 nm in diameter and 1.5 μm in length. The specific surface area of a-CNTs and MWCNTs are determined to be 1092 and 364 m2×g−1, respectively. Dichlorocarbene and cyclopentadienyl groups are proved to be the reaction intermediates by GC-MS measurements. A possible growth mechanism of the a-CNTs and MWCNTs has been proposed.