Purification and structural characterization of single-walled carbon nanotubes

The production of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) requires the use of catalysts, so the as-obtained compounds can contain traces of iron and nickel. The characterization by XRD and TEM of the nanotubes-based compounds was carried out at different steps of their thermal and chemical purification. Prolongated electron beam exposure results in structural modifications of the nanotubes which were mainly studied by electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS).