Combined experimental and numerical study of parameters controlling C-SWNTs (HNT) synthesis via laser vaporization

We present a summary of the study of the synthesis route based on the vaporization induced by a continuous CO2 laser that we have developed. We combined soot characterizations, temperature measurements of the buffer gas, and simulations of the flow fields of the buffer gas. Results are analyzed with the help of the phenomenological model of nucleation and growth process proposed in Gavillet et al. (2001, 2001). It is shown that the synthesis yield is controlled by three parameters: the cooling rate at high temperature where the catalyst panicles are formed, the residence time and the temperature in the temperature range (between 1000 K and 2100 K) where the nanotubes nucleate and grow. Adjustment of these parameters can be achieved via an optimization of the synthesis parameters with the help of the simulations of the gas flow fields.