Modifying the Molecular Structure of Carbon Nanotubes through Gas-Phase Reactants.

ABSTRACT: Current approaches to carbon nanotube (CNT) synthesis are limited in their ability to control the placement of atoms on the surface of nanotubes. Some of this limitation stems from a lack of understanding of the chemical bond-building mechanisms at play in CNT growth. Here, we provide experimental evidence that supports an alkyne polymerization pathway in which short-chained alkynes directly incorporate into the CNT lattice during growth, partially retaining their side groups and influencing CNT morphology. Using acetylene, methyl acetylene, and vinyl acetylene as feedstock gases, unique morphological differences were observed. Interwall spacing, a highly conserved value in natural graphitic materials, varied to accommodate side groups, increasing systematically from acetylene to methyl ac

SUBMITTER: Giannetto MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10119988 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature