The evaluation of the gross defects of carbon nanotubes in a continuous CVD process Original Research Article

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were prepared by ethylene decomposition on an Fe/Al2O3 catalyst in a fluidized bed reactor. Their gross defects at different growth periods are evaluated by using a combination of SEM, TGA and Raman spectroscopy. The initially grown CNTs have a much lower thermal stability and more defects as compared to the fully-grown ones. The difference in the defects of CNTs at different reaction times is attributed to the lift up of CNTs with the gradually crashing texture of catalyst and the increasing volume of CNTs in a limited reactor space.