Catalytic formation of carbon nanotubes during detonation of m-dinitrobenzene

摘要

Owing to unique electrical, mechanical, gas-storing, and catalytic properties, as well as a variety of significant potential applications [1,2], carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been an area of intense research since their discovery in 1991 [3]. At present, syntheses of CNTs are normally conducted via arc-discharge [3-6], laser ablation [7] and catalytic decomposition of hydrocarbons [8,0]. However, these methods are high energy-and hardware-intensive, which leads to high cost of CNTs and thus constrains their practical applications.