Synthesis of graphitic carbon particle chains at low temperatures under microwave irradiation

摘要

Chains of graphitic carbon particles were formed by microwave irradiation of polyethylene glycol at temperatures between 160 and 220 ℃ for 40 min, in the absence of a catalyst. Chains were comprised of individual particles ranging in size from 340 to 620 nm; particle size increased with synthesis temperature. The D/G ratio measured by Raman spectroscopy was 0.91, indicative of a mixture of amorphous and graphitic material. SEM, TEM and TGA measurements confirmed this. Our experiments show that the chains are an intermediate product, which when heated further under hydrothermal conditions, produce MWNTs.