Effect of catalysts and precursors in the synthesis of carbon nanotubes by catalytic chemical vapour deposition (original) (raw)

Since the pioneering report of discovery of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in 1991 by Iijima, scientists and researchers worldwide have carried out in depth investigations in this new family of carbon because of its myriad properties and potential applications. The synthesis of novel nanoscale material is the main target in current material science. This study investigates the effect of different types of cabon source and and catalyst on the type of CNTs formed via catalytic chemical vapour deposition (CCVD) method. Three types of carbon source i.e. acetylene, methane and ethanol were used for the synthesis of CNTs. The catalysts used in the synthesis of CNTs are monometallic, bimetallic and trimetallic derived from Fe, Co and Ni salts using wet impregnation method. The catalysts were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). The analysis confirmed the presence of Fe, Co and Ni. The as-synthesized CNTs were characterized using SEM/field...