Role of Reaction and Factors of Carbon Nanotubes Growth in Chemical Vapour Decomposition Process Using Methane-A Highlight

One of the remarkable achievements in the field of nanotechnology is Carbon Nanotubes (CNT) synthesis. Since their discovery in 1991 by Iijima, CNTs have attracted much attention across the world. The CNTs are broadly classified into single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs). The most distinguished features of SWNTs and MWNTs are their electrical, mechanical, chemical, and electronic properties which in turn find their potential applications in almost all fields of science, engineering, and technology. Based on the previous research studies to till date, chemical vapour deposition (CVD) is considered to be the simplest method with high energy efficiency and precise control of reaction parameters compared to other different methods for synthesizing CNTs. Since production of CNTs is becoming the most important factor in the applications point of view, most industries today are opting for the CVD technique. This paper reviewed the synthesis of CNT by CVD especially focusing on methane CVD. Various parameters influencing the reaction and CNT growth were also discussed. A detailed review was made over the different types of CVD process, influence of metal, supports, metal-support interaction, effect of promoters, and reaction parameters role in CNTs growth.