Full filling of mesoporous carbon nanotubes by aqueous solution at room temperature

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have the ideal structure to be used as templates for nanomaterials, especially for nanowires, and the tungsten nanowire is an important nanomaterial that is used as a strengthening phase. Therefore, we have proposed to apply mesoporous CNT (mCNT) as a template to prepare tungsten nanowires. However, the tungsten precursor should fill the hollow tube of mCNT firstly, and very few related studies have been reported. In this paper, we have systematically studied the filling process of ammonium metatungstate (AMT) aqueous solution. The results reveal that owing to the mesopores in the mCNT sidewall, the AMT can be encapsulated into the tube at room temperature (RT) and we can fully fill it without destroying the structure. In addition, vibration and solute concentration are also important factors. Besides, the mesoporous sidewall and hollow tubular core structure of mCNT are prerequisites to realize full filling. Furthermore, tungsten nanowires have been obtained after reduction of AMT in mCNTs.