Growth of MWCNTs on Flexible Stainless Steels without Additional Catalysts

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were synthesized on austenitic stainless steel foils (Type 304) using a home-built thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) under atmospheric pressure of hydrogen (H2) and acetylene (C2H2). During the growth, the stainless steel substrates were heated at different temperatures of 600, 700, 800, and 900°C. It was found that MWCNTs were grown on the stainless steel substrates heated at 600, 700, and 800°C while amorphous carbon film was grown at 900°C. The diameters of MWCNTs, as identified by scanning electron microscope (SEM) images together with ImageJ software program, were found to be 67.7, 43.0, and 33.1 nm, respectively. The crystallinity of MWCNTs was investigated by an X-ray diffractometer. The number of graphitic walled layers and the inner diameter of MWCNTs were investigated using a transmission electron microscope (TEM). The occurrence of Fe3O4 nanoparticles associated with carbon element can be used to reveal the behavior of Fe in stainless steel as catalyst. Raman spectroscopy was used to confirm the growth and quality of MWCNTs. The results obtained in this work showed that the optimum heated stainless steel substrate temperature for the growth of effective MWCNTs is 700°C. Chemical states of MWCNTs were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) using synchrotron light.