Synthesis of single wall carbon nanotubes with invariant diameters using a modified laser assisted chemical vapour deposition route

We have developed a fast and facile CO2 laser assisted chemical vapour deposition LA-CVD synthesis route for carbon nanotubes, which requires no supplementary hydrocarbon feedstock. The technique yields a broad range of carbon nanostructures due to the sharp thermal gradient afforded by the laser. This in turn provides useful information on the changes in nanostructure formation with temperature. A distinct and unusual aspect of this route is that, unlike other synthesis approaches, the obtained single wall carbon nanotube diameters show no dependence on the synthesis parameters and this is attributed to their nucleation via fullerenes and fullerene caps. The results suggest fullerene nucleation may also be active in other CVD synthesis routes.