Ignition of carbon nanotubes using a photoflash

When fluffy carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are subjected to a photoflash, there is a rapid increase in temperature to over 475 degrees C within 0.03 s. This is attributed to absorption of the light by the CNTs, which results in the generation of an acoustic wave and oxidation of the CNTs. Ignition is due to the exposure of the flammable catalytic particles embedded in CNTs to air. The appearance of sub-micrometer iron oxide particles in the samples indicates that the oxidized iron nanoparticles formed due to flash exposure may agglomerate or fuse depending on the amount of iron catalysts and CNT fluff temperature which is increased due to flash absorption. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.