Effects of temperature and catalyst concentration on the growth of aligned carbon nanotubes

The effects of preheating and pyrolysis temperatures and catalyst concentration on the synthesis of aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) using ferrocene as the catalyst and xylene as the carbon source in chemical vapor deposition were experimentally studied. The as-grown aligned CNTs were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electronic microscopy, high-resolution transmission electronic microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The growth rate, the diameters, and the degree of crystal structure of the aligned CNTs were all found to depend on the preheating and pyrolysis temperatures and the catalyst concentration. The optimized conditions for the growth of aligned CNTs resulted in a rapid growth rate of 20.4 μm/min, with the CNTs having a good, uniform crystal structure, and clean surfaces with little amorphous carbon. The results also show that higher preheating temperatures and lower ferrocene concentrations favor the growth of single-walled CNTs.