Growth of compound single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes

L M Peng; Z J Shi; Z L Zhang; L Ouyang; Z N Gu; Z Q Xue; Q D Wu

doi:10.1016/j.ultramic.2003.08.012

Growth of compound single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes

Ultramicroscopy. 2004 Jan;98(2-4):195-200. doi: 10.1016/j.ultramic.2003.08.012.

Authors

L M Peng¹, Z J Shi, Z L Zhang, L Ouyang, Z N Gu, Z Q Xue, Q D Wu

Affiliation

¹ Department of Electronics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China. plm@ele.pku.edu.cn

PMID: 15046799
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultramic.2003.08.012

Abstract

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are complement to each other in many of their physical properties. We report the synthesis of carbon nanotube cables-a form of compound single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes which could have the superior properties of both the SWCNTs and MWCNTs. This compound form of carbon nanotubes consists of a bundle of SWCNTs formed into a MWCNT, and the diameter of the inner most shell of the MWCNT ranges from a few to tens nanometers. The growth of these compound carbon nanotubes cannot be explained readily via existing modes of carbon nanotube growth, but promises a new way for improving and controlling the physical properties of either single- or multi-walled carbon nanotubes.