SYNTHESIS OF CARBON NANOTUBES BY THERMAL DEFLORURATION OF PTFE WITH SILICON

A chemical route to produce carbon nanotubes in very mild conditions has been investigated. Nanotubes were obtained by thermal defloruration of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), using Si powder as reductant. The reaction was performed in a quartz‐tube furnace under vacuum. A spongy‐like carbon product was isolated at reaction end which consisted of carbon nanotube embedding the silicon grains. The so obtained carbon nanotubes were characterized by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Fourier‐Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT‐IR), and Optical Spectroscopy (UV‐VIS), and the morphology was accurately determined by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).