Growth of Carbon Nanowires and Nanotubes via Ultrarapid Heating of Ethanol Vapor

A method is proposed for producing carbon nanomaterials by ultrarapid heating of vapors of organic compounds to high temperatures, and an experimental setup for implementing this method is described. The starting reagents used are ethanol and mixtures of ethanol with water, glycerol, and ferrocene. At heater temperatures of 1500–2000°C and substrate temperatures of 600–1000°C, carbon nanowires and nanotubes are obtained. The nanowires attain 100 μm in length and range in thickness from 30 to 150 nm. The nanotubes have “bamboo” or “fish-bone” structures, with a thickness from 20 to 50 nm. The deposition of nanotubes on supported catalysts (iron, nickel, gold, and others) is also examined. It is shown that, under certain conditions, selective deposition of carbon nanotubes (nanowires) onto catalyst-coated parts of the substrate is possible.