Volume no :9, Issue no: 1, January 2014

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MULTI-WALLED CARBON NANOTUBES PURIFICATION TECHNIQUES

Author's: B. Boussouari and M. Baitoul
Pages: [1] - [15]
Received Date: November 9, 2012
Submitted by:

Abstract

The purpose of the present work was to purify multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) produced by CVD using hydrochloric acid (HCl) and nitric acid in order to remove the metal catalyst particles and amorphous carbon. The effect of acid treatment and sonication on the MWCNTs structure was obtained by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), environmental scanning electronic microscopy (ESEM), and Raman spectroscopy. Comparing the acid treatment in HCl solution with that in solution, the results showed better purification and exfoliation of the MWCNTs treated in at optimized sonication time. However, higher thermal stability of the HCl acid purified MWCNTs was obtained.

Keywords

carbon nanotubes, purification, acid treatment, morphology, vibrational spectroscopy, thermal analysis.