Synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes with narrow diameter-distribution from fullerene

Single-walled carbon nanotubes with narrow diameter-distributions were synthesized by the catalytic CVD technique using fullerene, C60 or C70, as the carbon source. Fe/Co bimetal particles supported with zeolite powder were exposed to fullerene vapor in a heated quartz tube furnace. With a precise control of fullerene vapor pressure, macroscopic amounts of SWNTs with relatively high quality were generated. The diameter distributions of SWNTs, estimated by an analysis of resonance Raman scattering using excitation wavelengths of 633, 514.5 and 488 nm, ranged between 0.8 and 1.1 nm. The narrowness of this distribution is ascribed to the formation of nanotube caps due to fullerene collisions.