Synthesis of CNTs via ethanol decomposition over ball-milled Fe 2O 3 coated copper sheets

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were synthesized on ball-milled Fe2O3coated copper sheets by the catalytic decomposition of ethanol vapor at 650°C. TEM, SEM, and EDX revealed the presence of 30-50 nm diameter multiwalled carbon nanotubes with catalytic particles at their tips. CNTs, α-Fe, and Fe3C were detected by XRD. Raman and TG analyses show that the product is CNTs with less than 10 wt % residues. The carbon yield was the maximum at 354 wt %. © 2007 Pleiades Publishing, Inc.