A simple chemical method of opening and decorating carbon nanotubes by polyvinyl alcohol

At low temperature (about 250 degreesC), the mixture of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and purified carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was heated in the air to study the effect of PVA on the morphologies of the carbon nanotubes. The TEM pictures show that the top of the carbon nanotubes is opened, and the intertwisting carbon nanotubes are cut into short carbon nanotubes. The quantity of the short nanotubes increases with the time consuming. The oxidation and decoration of carbon nanotubes by polyvinyl alcohol have been demonstrated in these experiments. Based on these results, the mechanism of the oxidation and decoration is proposed, which indicates that one or more products generated from the decomposition of polyvinyl alcohol play an important role in the process of the reaction.