Large Thick Flattened Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

This paper describes large thick flattened multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCTs) that have been synthesized using the precursors Co(CO) 3 NO or Fe(CO) 5 . TEM and HRTEM clearly show that even thick MWCNTs (more than 30 layers) can be collapsed or partially flattened. The transition from circular to flattened was observed by HRTEM in a partially flattened nanotube. The estimated wall thickness of these flattened nanotubes ranges from 13 to 40 layers, the outer width of the flattened nanotubes (ribbons) lies between 43 and 121 nm. Metal-filled, partially flattened MWCTs were also found in the samples, and TEM and XRD results confirmed that the metals were encapsulated in the carbon shells.