Purification of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Grown by Thermal CVD on Fe-Based Catalyst

Aiming at the purpose of using carbon nanotubes as secondary phase in composite materials, removal of metal catalyst, catalyst support and amorphous carbon is crucial to make the most of the required properties. A purification method was developed to remove the metal catalyst from multi-walled nanotubes grown by thermal CVD. A nanosized Fe-based catalyst, prepared by coprecipitation of iron and aluminum ions, followed by solid state reaction, was used to catalyze the growth. Carbon nanotubes were subjected to acid purification and a comparison between nitric acid and a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acid for the removal of Fe and Fe oxides is provided. Morphological and spectroscopic analyses of the materials were performed, both before and after the purification processes.