Controllable growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes by ethanol-ferrocene aerosol method

Aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD), a method for producing single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with the use of ethanol and ferrocene as the sources of carbon and a catalyst introduced into a reactor by means of an ultrasound nebulizer, is described. The influence of different parameters such as temperature, growth time, and catalyst precursor concentration on the diameter and chirality of SWCNTs is studied by optical absorption spectroscopy. The suggested technique makes the production of small-diameter SWCNTs (0.75–1.43 nm) with sufficiently stable chirality distribution close to the achiral structures.