Controlled oxidative cutting of carbon nanotubes catalysed by silver nanoparticles

A systematic comparison of different methods for the cutting of carbon nanotubes has shown that oxidation catalysed by silver nanoparticles is a superior method for the efficient procurement of short carbon nanotubes with minimal introduction of sidewall damage. Complementary examination by microscopic and spectroscopic approaches indicates that the mean length of multi-walled carbon nanotubes synthesised by chemical vapour deposition can be reduced by a factor of five or more while preserving sidewall structure. We have demonstrated the versatility of this procedure by application to an array of hollow carbon nanostructures possessing a diverse range of structural characteristics, such as length, diameter, internal and external structures, with the extent of cutting seemingly related to the initial degree of structural imperfection in the nanotube.