Diferentes materiais nanoestruturados à base de carbono, tais como nanotubos, nanofibras, nanomolas e nanooctopus, foram obtidos através do processo de deposição química de vapor. Tais experimentos foram realizados em um forno tubular e variações nos parâmetros experimentais permitiram a obtenção das diferentes nanoestruturas de carbono. Filmes finos de Ni e Cu foram depositados sobre substratos de SiO 2 /Si e empregados como catalisadores. O efeito de diferentes gases precursores de carbono, da temperatura de crescimento e do metal catalítico sobre as características do material final foi investigado por microscopia eletrônica de varredura, espectroscopia Raman e difratometria de raios X com ângulo rasante. O uso dos gases metano e acetileno levaram à formação de nanotubos de carbono para ambos os filmes metálicos, enquanto Ni parcialmente oxidado promoveu o crescimento de nanomolas. Estruturas do tipo octopus foram obtidas a partir do uso de cobre associado a um fornecimento relativamente restrito de metano.Different carbon nanostructured materials, such as nanotubes, nanofibers, nanosprings and nanooctopus, were grown by changing the metal catalyst and experimental parameters of the thermal chemical vapor deposition process. These experiments were performed using a tubular furnace and methane or acetylene as carbon feedstock gases. Thin films of Ni or Cu were deposited onto a SiO 2 /Si substrate and employed as catalysts. The effect of the growth temperature, metal catalyst and carbon gas precursor (methane or acetylene) on the final carbon nanoestructured material was studied by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction. Growth of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was observed using both metal films and carbon precursor gases, whereas partially oxidized Ni films promoted formation of nanosprings. Experiments with reduced supply of methane resulted in octopus-like carbon nanostructures when a Cu film was used as a catalyst.Keywords: carbon nanotubes, carbon nanosprings, carbon nanooctopus, Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), metal catalysis
IntroductionThe ability of carbon to form strong chemical bonds with itself (in different allotropic forms) and many other elements is responsible for the existence of a vast number of carbon-based materials and compounds. It makes carbon one of the most fascinating building blocks for synthesis of new structures with unique properties. As a consequence, a great variety of carbon nanostructured materials have been grown in many laboratories. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Among the different carbon nanostructures, nanotubes (CNTs) have received much attention due to their extraordinary electronic, mechanical, chemical, optical and other properties. Depending on their structural characteristics, CNTs can exhibit metallic or semiconductor behavior, thus being promising material for designing new nanoelectronic devices, such as field-effect transistors.1,2 Many other potential technological applications can be lis...