Characterisation of carbonaceous materials using Raman spectroscopy: a comparison of carbon nanotube filters, single- and multi-walled nanotubes, graphitised porous carbon and graphite

Multi-walled carbon nanotube(MWCNT) filters have been recently synthesised which have specific molecular filtering capabilities and good mechanical strength. Optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals the formation of highly aligned arrays of bundles of carbon nanotubes having lengths up to 500 mu m. The Raman spectra of this material along with four other carbonaceous materials, commercially available single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and MWCNTs, graphitised porous carbon (Carbotrap) and graphite have been recorded using two-excitation wavelengths, 532 and 785 nm, and analysed for band positions and shape with special emphasis paid to the D-, G- and G'-bands. A major difference between the different MWCNT varieties analysed is that G-bands in the MWCNT filters exhibit almost no dispersion, whereas the other MWCNTs show a noticeable dispersive behaviour with a change in the excitation wavelength. Spectral features similar to those of the MWCNT filter varieties were observed for the Carbotrap material. From the line shape analysis, the intensity ratio, I-D/I-G, of the more ordered MWCNT filter material using the integral G-band turns out to be two times lower than that of the less ordered MWCNT filter product at both excitation wavelengths. This parameter can, therefore, be used as a measure of the degree of MWCNT alignment in filter varieties, which is well supported also by our SEM study. Copyright (C) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.