Study on the Pyrolysis of the Reduced Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes by Razor-like Reductant

摘要

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) decorated with affluent hydroxyl groups can be applied in polymer nanocomposite and nanobiotechnology. In this paper, hydroxylated MWCNTs were synthesized by oxidation with piranha and subsequent reduction with sodium naphthalenide and characterized with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). It was found that sodium naphthalenide could not only reduce the carboxylic or carbonylic groups to hydroxyl groups, but also, like a razor, shave amorphous carbon off the surface of MWCNTs, and unveil new surfaces of crystalline graphene owning strong adsorbility.