Proper Combination of Catalyst Materials and Ethanol for High Yield in CVD Growth of Carbon Nanotubes

摘要

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were grown by using a combination of ethanol and metallic Fe, which was not exposed to air before the growth. CNTs were also grown using intentionally oxidized Fe. The reaction products by these growths were analyzed by in situ x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. We found that the oxidized Fe partially remained and did not completely reduce, resulting in low CNT yields. At higher growth temperature, oxide formation was found even when metallic Fe was used. These oxides induced a lowering of the decomposition efficiency of ethanol, resulting in difficulty of CNT growth by the combination of pure ethanol and Fe.