Wet chemistry self-seeded surface-deposition process toward amorphous carbon nanotubes and their electrochemical application

In this paper, bunches of amorphous carbon nanotubes (alpha-CNTs) have been successfully synthesized on a large scale from a solution-based reaction between ferrocene and carbon tetrachloride at 180 degrees C for 12 h. The alpha-CNT is 3 - 5 mu m in length and similar to 300/200 nm in diameter (outer/inner) and has a Brunauer - Emmett - Teller (BET) specific surface area of 431 m(2) g(-1) with a narrow pore distribution centered at 4.03 nm. The as-prepared a-CNTs showed a reversible capacity of similar to 302 mA h g(-1) and little hysteresis in the charge/discharge experiments of secondary lithium ion batteries, which suggested that the alpha-CNTs might become a new candidate as an electrode material in secondary lithium-ion batteries. Herein, a possible self-seeded surface-deposition growth mechanism of these alpha-CNTs has been proposed. This mechanism is of importance to understand the nucleation process in the solution phase and growth of other nanotubes through a similar seeded deposition process.