Reports of the synthesis and identification of carbon nanotubes, both multi-walled [1] and single-walled [2, 3], in arc-discharge soot products have excited great interest in the field of study of this newly discovered allotropic nanostructure of carbon. Extra-ordinary properties, such as electronic [4-6] and mechanical [7, 8] properties, have been demonstrated both theoretically and experimentally. Although it has been the primary method of producing carbon nanotubes, the arc-discharge technique suffers from a few drawbacks that might prevent it from becoming the best candidate for precisely controlled syntheses of carbon nanotubes of high quality. It is therefore important to search for new processing techniques, especially in the low temperature regime, which can produce high-quality carbon nanotubes in large quantities, while allowing control of the fabrication process with ease and precision. With these considerations in mind, a low-temperature chemical vapour deposition (CVD) apparatus has been set up in an effort to seek new processing routes for large-scale production of carbon nano-tubes.
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