Purification and characterization of buckminsterfullerene, nanotubes and their by-products

✍ Scribed by C Sekar; C Subramanian

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 440 KB
• Volume: 47
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0042-207X
• DOI: 10.1016/s0042-207x(96)00172-8

✦ Synopsis

Buckminsterfullerene, C,,, has been purified by the sublimation technique using a closed quartz ampoole. Carbon nanotubes have been purified by eliminating the nanopatticles through oxidation at 725% using oxygen as a carrier gas. A pure form of C,, nanotubes and their by-products have been characterized with thermogravimetric andpowderx-ray diffraction analyses. The temperature for the maximum rate of oxidation is 830°C for nanotubes and 515°C for C, when heated at the rate of PO'Vmin in air. The outershells of carbon deposit prepared in an argon atmosphere are more resistant to oxidation (840°C) compared with the oxidation temperature of outershells prepared in helium gas (760") under similar conditions. The powder X-ray diffraction study of nanotubes reveals that the interlayer distances have been enhanced by a few percent more than those in bulk graphite.