Low-temperature growth of multi-walled carbon nanotubes by thermal CVD

Low-temperature thermal chemical vapor deposition (thermal CVD) synthesis of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was studied using a large variety of different precursor compounds. Cyclopentene oxide, tetrahydrofuran, methanol, and xylene:methanol mixture as oxygen containing heteroatomic precursors, while xylene and acetylene as conventional hydrocarbon feedstocks were applied in the experiments. The catalytic activity of Co, Fe, Ni, and their bi- as well as tri-metallic combinations were tested for the reactions. Low-temperature CNT growth occurred at 400 °C when using bi-metallic Co-Fe and tri-metallic Ni-Co-Fe catalyst (on alumina) and methanol or acetylene as precursors. In the case of monometallic catalyst nanoparticles, only Co (both on alumina and on silica) was found to be active in the low temperature growth (below 500 °C) from oxygenates such as cyclopentene oxide and methanol. The structure and composition of the achieved MWCNTs products were studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) as well as by Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The successful MWCNT growth below 500 °C is promising from the point of view of integrating MWCNT materials into existing IC fabrication technologies.