CVD synthesis and purification of single-walled carbon nanotubes using silica-supported metal catalyst

We report the growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) from silica aerogel by methane chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Bimetallic Fe/Mo supported by amorphous silica forms nanostructures that are catalytically active at the growth temperature. Despite the flexibility gained by using silica as a support matrix, the as-grown nanotube samples need to be further purified for applications in nanodevices. Our experiments show that the treatment in hydrofluoric acid selectively removes the silica matrix,while the amorphous carbon deposits can be selectively removed by oxidation. The influence of the oxidation and etching parameters on the SWNT yield is discussed. The optimized purification procedure renders SWNTs only. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.