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Large-scale production of single-walled carbon nanotubes by the electric-arc technique

Abstract

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) offer the prospect of both new fundamental science and useful (nano)technological applications1. High yields (70–90%) of SWNTs close-packed in bundles can be produced by laser ablation of carbon targets2. The electric-arc technique used to generate fullerenes and multi-walled nanotubes is cheaper and easier to implement, but previously has led to only low yields of SWNTs3,4. Here we show that this technique can generate large quantities of SWNTs with similar characteristics to those obtained by laser ablation. This suggests that the (still unknown) growth mechanism for SWNTs must be independent of the details of the technique used to make them. The ready availability of large amounts of SWNTs, meanwhile, should make them much more accessible for further study.

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Figure 1: Scanning electron microscopy image of the light and porous material that formed as a collar around the cathode deposit in our apparatus, s.
Figure 2: High resolution transmission electron microscopy view of one bundle from the collarette bent in such a way that it is seen edge-on.
Figure 3: Raman spectrum of SWNTs recorded at room temperature, using an excitation wavelength of 514.
Figure 4: X-ray diffraction patterns at low angle of our collar sample (trace a) and of the sample obtained by the laser ablation technique b.

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Acknowledgements

The Montpellier and Nantes groups were supported by the European Community through its Training and Mobility of Researchers programme.

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Correspondence to P. Bernier.

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Journet, C., Maser, W., Bernier, P. et al. Large-scale production of single-walled carbon nanotubes by the electric-arc technique. Nature 388, 756–758 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/41972

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