METHODS FOR FABRICATING CARBON NANOTUBES USING SILICON MONOXIDE

摘要

A method of fabricating nanotubes or nanofibers uses catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of hydrocarbons (e.g., methane) on support materials (e.g., powders of SiO) impregnated with a catalyst (e.g., Ni and/or Fe metal salts). After the CVD process, the nanotubes may be purified by sublimating the support material at a temperature higher than the CVD process temperature. In one embodiment, carbon nanotubes are obtained by sublimating a SiO support at 1200 °C. In an alternate embodiment, silicon carbide nanotubes, or a mixture of silicon carbide and carbon nanotubes, are fabricated using a sublimation temperature of 1350 °C or higher.