Synthesis of carbon nanotube using cesium carbonate catalyst by chemical vapor deposition

Low cost production of carbon nanofiber and nanotube has been widely studied. Previously, these carbon materials have been synthesized by using chemical vapor deposition. In this letter, the carbon nanomaterials of various morphologies have been produced by using cesium carbonate as a catalyst and acetylene gas (C₂H₂) as a carbon source via chemical vapor deposition. It was found that the deposited products were mainly carbon nanotubes and nanofibers at deposition temperatures of 600 and 700 °C, respectively. Because the catalysts are water-soluble, they can be removed from the deposited products by simple water-washing instead of using highly concentrated acid for metal catalyst removal.