From solid carbon sources to carbon nanotubes: a general water-assisted approach

Abstract

We reported a universal approach to prepare carbon nanotubes from solid-state carbons. Under the assistance of a trace amount of water vapor, efficient growth of types of carbon nanotubes were achieved from commercially available artificial graphite powder, carbon black, and amorphous carbon powder under a relatively low temperature of 850 °C. This present method provided a new horizon for the effective utilization of low value added carbon resources to fabricate advanced carbon materials and could help to deeply understand the structure transformation of solid carbon materials.