| Abstract
| - Nanoparticle catalysts are essential and indispensable for all syntheses of single-walled carbon nanotubes(SWCNTs). We have prepared size-controlled Co, Co−Mo, and Fe−Mo nanoparticles by the reversed micellemethod as the catalysts for the gas-phase pyrolytic synthesis of SWCNTs. From the investigation of therelation between the sizes of the nanoparticles and the alkyl-chain lengths of the cationic surfactants,dialkyldimethylammonium bromides, it has been found that the alkyl groups of the surfactants could play arole in controlling the sizes of the nanoparticles and that the alkyl chain of the surfactant should be preferablyless than 10 carbon atoms at most to prepare smaller-size nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution. Thereduction of the particle size increases the number of nanoparticles in the colloidal solution and leads to ahigher yield of SWCNTs.
|
