NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Synthesis of Stacked-Cup Carbon Nanotubes in a Metal Free Low Temperature SystemStacked-cup carbon nanotubes were formed by either Fischer-Tropsch type or Haber Bosch type reactions in a metal free system. Graphite particles were used as the catalyst. The samples were heated at 600 C in a gas mixture of CO 75 Torr, N2 75 Torr and H2 550 Torr for three days. Trans mission electron microscope analysis of the catalyst surface at the completion of the experiment recognized the growth of nanotubes. They were 10-50 nm in diameter and approximately 1 micrometer in length. They had a hollow channel of 5-20 nm in the center. The nanotubes may have grown on graphite surfaces by the CO disproportionation reaction and the surface tension of the carbon nucleus may have determined the diameter. Although, generally, the diameter of a carbon nanotube depends on the size of the cataly1ic particles, the diameter of the nanotubes on graphite particles was independent of the particle size and significantly confined within a narrow range compared with that produced using catalytic amorphous iron-silicate nanoparticles. Therefore, they must have an unknown formation process that is different than the generally accepted mechanism.
Document ID
20120012517
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Kimura, Yuki
(Tohoku Univ. Sendai, Japan)
Nuth, Joseph A.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Johnson, Natasha M.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Farmer, Kevin D.
(Tulsa Univ. OK, United States)
Roberts, Kenneth P.
(Tulsa Univ. OK, United States)
Hussaini, Syed R.
(Tulsa Univ. OK, United States)
Date Acquired
August 26, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2011
Publication Information
Publication: Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Letters
Volume: 3
Issue: 1
Subject Category
Nonmetallic Materials
Report/Patent Number
GSFC.JA.01264.2012
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available