High-quality double-walled carbon nanotubes produced by catalytic decomposition of benzene

High-quality double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWNTs) have been produced by catalytic decomposition of benzene over Fe-Mo/Al2O3 catalyst at 900 degreesC. The produced carbon materials are DWNT bundles free of amorphous carbon covering on the surface. DWNTs have inner tube diameters in the range of 0.69-2.53 nm and outer tube diameters in the range of 1.44-3.30 nm. The interlayer spacing between graphene layers ranges from 0.35 to 0.38 nm. Transmission electron microscopy and Raman analysis show that produced carbon materials have a low defect level in the atomic carbon structure, indicating the synthesis of high-quality DWNTs. Our results demonstrate that benzene is an ideal carbon feedstock to synthesize high-purity DWNTs over Fe-MO/Al2O3 catalyst.