PRODUCTION OF HIGH-DENSITY SINGLE-WALLED NANOTUBE MATERIAL BY A SIMPLE LASER-ABLATION METHOD

A continuous-wave 250 W CO2-laser operating at 10.6 mu m has been empl oyed to evaporate graphite/bi-metal targets in a vertical evaporation chamber. Without the help of an additional furnace, web-like soot mate rial has been easily produced. This contains high densities of bundles of single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs). Electron microscopy, Raman spectr oscopy and neutron diffraction show the high quality of the SWNT mater ial. The use of this simple laser-ablation system offers additional po ssibilities to study experimental parameters important for the formati on of SWNTs leading to a better understanding of its growth mechanism. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All right reserved.