Oxidation of N-doped multiwalled carbon nanotubes and formation of discontinuous spiraled carbon nanoribbons

Abstract

The effects of five commonly used wet chemical oxidations were studied for the extent of oxidation of graphitized nitrogen-doped multiwalled carbon nanotubes (N-MWCNTs). KMnO4/ H2SO4 was the most potent oxidant, as it produced the highest fraction of oxygen-containing functional groups. Electron microscopy studies showed that the treatment of annealed N-MWCNTs (G-N-MWCNTs) with H2SO4/HNO3 and H2SO4/KMnO4 mixtures leads to interesting spiraled ribbon textures. A structural model, involving the stacking of coiled subunits to form a discontinuous carbon nanoribbon rather than a continuous ribbon is proposed to explain the range of textures that result from oxidation as well as from reduction.