Purification for carbon nanotubes synthesized by flame fragments deposition via hydrogen peroxide and acetone

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are synthesized by the flame fragment deposition (FFD) technique using Iraqi liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as a source of carbon in a hand-made reactor at a low temperature (160 °C) without using a catalyst. Purification of the multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) is carried out using a two-step process consisting of sonication in 30 wt. % hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) solution at room temperature to remove amorphous impurities adhering to the walls of the CNTs and carbon nanoparticles (CNPs), followed by sonication in an acetone bath to remove the polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) formed during the LPG gas burning. Comprehensive characterizations such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were conducted to verify the efficiency of the purification process. The results clearly demonstrated that this process is promising for the purification of the synthesized CNTs.