Synthesis and Production of Carbon Nanotubes

**13**

**Chapter 2**

**Abstract**

tion temperature, etc.

**1. Introduction**

**Keywords:** synthesis, CVD, carbon nanotubes

and extraordinary physical properties (**Table 1**).

another allotrope of carbon named graphene.

Deposition

Synthesis of Carbon Nanotubes

As a new carbon material in the twenty-first century, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have excellent optical, electrical, magnetic, thermal, chemical, and mechanical properties. There are many synthesis methods to produce CNTs. Compared with other methods, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is the most effective method that has broad prospects for large-scale control of CNTs in recent years due to its simple equipment, simple operation, and lower cost. In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the controlling parameters about the formation of CNTs, this chapter reviews the latest progress in the preparation of CNTs by CVD from three of the most important influencing factors: carbon sources, catalysts, and substrates. Among them, the catalyst is the most influential factor for the morphology, structure, and properties of CNTs. It should be pointed out that many growth factors can control the particle size distribution, composition, and structure of the catalysts, such as catalyst substrate, metal transition components added, calcina-

In order to meet the challenge of the increase of global energy consumption and the augment of global financial markets and population in the past time, people have opened up new fields in materials science such as nanotechnology. Carbonbased nanomaterials have caused great concern in the light of their unique structure

Generally speaking, carbon is mainly retained as solid carbon including graphite and diamond. With the rapid development of science and technology, more and more carbon nanostructured materials are discovered. In 1975, Oberlin et al. [1] successfully prepared carbon nanofibers by CVD, which has aroused the upsurge in the research of carbon nanomaterials. In 1985, fullerene [2], a zero-dimensional carbon nanomaterial, was discovered. Later, Iijima [3] accidentally discovered what is now known as the CNT needle (**Figure 1**) when he used TEM to observe the products by the arc discharge process. The investigation of CNTs was heating up since their discovery. The preparation and application of CNTs are one of the examples for the current industry technology. In 2004, Geim and Novoselov [4] mechanically peeled off the graphite repeatedly until it formed a plane of a single atom and found

by Catalytic Chemical Vapor

*Xiao-Di Wang, K. Vinodgopal and Gui-Ping Dai*

## **Chapter 2**
