Water-Assisted Highly Efficient Synthesis of Impurity-Free Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

We demonstrate the efficient chemical vapor deposition synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes where the activity and lifetime of the catalysts are enhanced by water. Water-stimulated enhanced catalytic activity results in massive growth of superdense and vertically aligned nanotube forests with...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2004-11, Vol.306 (5700), p.1362-1364
Main Authors: Hata, Kenji, Futaba, Don N., Mizuno, Kohei, Namai, Tatsunori, Yumura, Motoo, Iijima, Sumio
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbon
Carbon nanotubes
Catalysis
Catalysts
Chemical synthesis
Chemical vapor deposition
Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science
rheology
Exact sciences and technology
Forest growth
Mars
Materials
Materials science
Metal particles
Methods of nanofabrication
Nanotubes
Physics
Polar regions
Properties
Water
Water vapor
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We demonstrate the efficient chemical vapor deposition synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes where the activity and lifetime of the catalysts are enhanced by water. Water-stimulated enhanced catalytic activity results in massive growth of superdense and vertically aligned nanotube forests with heights up to 2.5 millimeters that can be easily separated from the catalysts, providing nanotube material with carbon purity above 99.98%. Moreover, patterned, highly organized intrinsic nanotube structures were successfully fabricated. The water-assisted synthesis method addresses many critical problems that currently plague carbon nanotube synthesis.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1104962