Production of bundles of aligned carbon and carbon–nitrogen nanotubes by the pyrolysis of precursors on silica-supported iron and cobalt catalysts

Pyrolysis of acetylene over iron or cobalt nanoparticles well dispersed on silica substrates gives copious yields of aligned carbon nanotube bundles. By carrying out the pyrolysis of pyridine over these catalyst surfaces, good quantities of aligned carbon–nitrogen nanotube bundles have been produced. The composition of the carbon–nitrogen nanotubes varies between C10N and C33N, depending on the catalyst.