Development of Facile Synthetic Methods of Carbon Nanotubes Using a Domestic Microwave Oven

Abstract

We succeeded in the development of two facile synthetic methods of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by using a domestic microwave oven and a commercially available small microwave furnace from Art Box™. Our handmade apparatus was cheap and the synthesis of the CNTs took only 5 min. Interestingly, we could selectively synthesize the magnetic nickel-containing CNTs and non-magnetic nickel-free CNTs by our two developed methods.

Synthesis of carbon nanotubes by microwave heating: Influence of diameter of catalytic Ni nanoparticles on diameter of CNTs

“…As can be seen from Fig.5 min) increases by 1.12 nm when the diameter of nickel nanoparticles increases by 1.00 nm. It has been reported in Figure 24 and Table 4 of the review paper 14 that the outer diameter of the 10 CNTs (D CNT = 1.0~11.7 nm) appeared in several papers also gave linearity with the diameter of the catalytic metal nanoparticles (D M = 1.0~12.6 nm). By using the values reported in Table 4 …”

“…As shown in this gure, a commercially available domestic microwave oven (Sharp RE-T1(700 W)) was remodeled in order to control the temperature, by using a thermocouple and a temperature controller. 10 In this microwave oven was placed a furnace of Art Box™ which can be heated by microwave irradiation. 17 A quartz test tube (diameter ¼ 15 nm, length ¼ 180 nm) was inserted into this box, and nitrogen gas was pumped through this test tube as a reactor vessel.…”

“…However, each method needs high energy and expensive apparatuses. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] On the other hand, we have developed four convenient rapid synthetic methods, "metal complex method", 10 "mixture method", 10 "nano ber method", 11 and "nickel nanoparticle method", 12 by microwave heating using a cheap domestic microwave oven. When these methods were employed, MWCNTs could be synthesized at much lower cost with saving energy within an extremely short time.…”

Functional Discotic Liquid Crystals

“…Upon carbonization under a controlled heating process the preorganized ordered columnar superstructures can be converted into nanotubes. CNTs have successfully been produced from both thermotropic as well as lyotropic discotic liquid crystals by pyrolysis in the mesophase 82–85…”

Development of a novel method to synthesize carbon nanotubes from granulated polystyrene and nickel nanoparticles by microwave heating

“…Therefore, to date we have developed three novel methods in order to rapidly synthesize CNTs at low cost by using microwave heating: (1) metal complex method, 14 (2) mixture method 14 and (3) nanofiber method. 15 Smart Material Science and Technology, Department of Bioscience and Textile Technology, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shinshu University, Ueda, 386-8567, Japan.…”