Revealing the secret of water-assisted carbon nanotube synthesis by microscopic observation of the interaction of water on the catalysts.
We elucidated the secret of water-assisted chemical vapor deposition (CVD) by elucidating the influence of water on the catalysts, through ex situ microscopic and spectroscopic analysis. We unambiguously showed that catalyst deactivation readily occurs due to carbon coating and that water acted to remove this coating and revive catalysts activity. This represents the central point of water-assisted CVD.
Nanotube Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8565, Japan.
Takeo
T
Yamada
Alan
A
Maigne
Masako
M
Yudasaka
Kouhei
K
Mizuno
Don N
DN
Futaba
Motoo
M
Yumura
Sumio
S
Lijima
Kenji
K
Hata