Iron silicide-catalyzed growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes with a narrow diameter distribution

Abstract Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are synthesized from iron silicide (FeSi) catalyst by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD). During the growth process, Fe atoms migrate onto the FeSi surface and form active Fe nanoparticles, catalyzing the growth of SWNTs. The produced SWNTs demonstrate a narrow diameter/chirality distribution, possibly arising from the solid state of Fe nanoparticles and the use of carbon monoxide (CO) as the carbon source, which facilitates SWNT growth by perpendicular mode. Remarkably, (12, 6) SWNTs occupies more than 40% of all the SWNTs, as detected by Raman spectroscopy. This work opens an avenue for chirality selective synthesis of SWNTs by applying silicide as the catalyst.