Transforming Carbon Nanotubes to Few-Layer Graphene with the Assistance of Encapsulated Ferrocene

Is it possible to form few-layer graphene by direct merging single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), which are generally regarded as rolled single-layered graphene? In this study, we reported the structure transformation of SWNTs to few-layer graphene assisted by the encapsulated ferrocene molecules. High resolution transmission electron microscopy imaging and Raman spectra revealed that the transformation is quite sensitive to the diameters of the host SWNTs and also the annealing temperature. Tile encapsulated ferrocene molecules played a key role during the transformation.