Influence of initial temperature and carbon source on carbon nanotubes prepared by gaseous detonation

In the paper, the effects of two factors changing initial temperature and using methane and acetylene as different carbon source on synthesis of carbon nanotubes(CNTs) by gaseous detonation were studied. The CNTs were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy. The results show that with the increase of the initial temperature, the yield of the synthesized carbon nanotubes is reduced and the degree of graphite is reduced, but the wall of the tube will be smooth and the diameter of the pipe will be increased. When using the acetylene, there are no carbon nanotubes in the synthesized products but synthesized amorphous carbon with higher graphitization degree. With increase of the amount of catalyst, product carbon coated particles increase and coating layer is clearly visible, but there are some structural defects. When the initial temperature ranges from 110 ℃ to 130 ℃, the use of methane gas is a better solution for the synthesis of CNTs with the gaseous detonation method.