Systematic Studies on Carbon Nanotubes Synthesis from Aliphatic Alcohols by the CVD Floating Catalyst Method

Systematic studies on carbon nanotubes synthesis from aliphatic alcohols by a floating catalyst chemical vapour deposition (CVD) route are presented. Solutions of eight aliphatic alcohols (from methanol to decanol) saturated with ferrocene (as the catalyst source) were pyrolysed in a tubular furnace under flowing argon at temperature of 850°C. Single‐walled carbon nanotubes were obtained from alcohols containing one to six carbon atoms, while carbon feedstocks with longer carbon chains yielded primarily multi‐walled carbon nanotubes and carbon‐encapsulated magnetic nanoparticles. It was found that the pyrolysis of alcohols containing four to five carbon atoms results in the highest purity of single‐walled nanotubes. The length of carbon chain in alcohol molecules also influenced the product crystallinity. The optimum length of the carbon chain was derived from additional thermodynamic calculations.