Low-cost production and applications of high purity carbon nanotubes

The development of low-cost carbon nanotubes is presented in this work. In the present work, various types of carbon nanotubes are synthesised in hot-wall chemical vapour deposition (CVD) reactors using different temperatures and carbon sources (hydrocarbons). Growth rates were continuously monitored using an electronic microbalance coupled to the reactors. The obtained products are characterised by Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The data from the deposition process and the characteristics of the developed materials are discussed in detail. The kinetic data are compared with those attained by employing conventional catalysts. Furthermore, techniques of semi-industrial CNT functionalisation are developed in this study and results on their effectiveness on the synthesis of resin-based nanocomposites are presented.