Synthesis of C-N nanotube blocks and Y-junctions in bamboo-like C-N nanotubes

Abstract

We report the observations made on the synthesis and characterization of C-N nanotube blocks and Y-junctions in bamboo-like C-N nanotubes. The C-N nanotube Blocks have been synthesized by pyrolyzing the mixture of silver nitrate acetonitrile solution and ferrocene benzene solution. The structural/microstructural characterization of the as-synthesized material has been done using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) analysis has been carried out to confirm the presence of nitrogen in nanotubes. These investigations reveal the formation of blocks of bamboo-like nanotubes having the dimension 300 × 200 × 30 μm and the diameter is 20-50 nm. We also observe the formation of Y-junctions in bamboo-like nanotubes as we spray the acetonitrile ferrocene and AgNO3 mixture. The length of the synthesized Y-junction nanotube bundles is ∼2 μm. Some more complex Ψ-shaped junctions are also found to be present. The diameters of the Y-junction nanotubes is ∼80 nm at the junction and 25-50 nm at the branches. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.