Moessbauer Spectroscopy Involved in the Study of the Catalytic Growth of Carbon Nanotubes

摘要

Single-walled and thin multiwalled carbon nanotubes are prepared by a catalytic-chemical-vapor-deposition method involving the simultaneous formation of Fe or Co nanometric particles from oxide solid solutions based on Al_2O_3, MgAl_2O_4 or MgO. This paper is an overview of the authors' work on the characterization by Moessbauer spectroscopy used in complement to electron microscopy and specific-surface-area measurements. It is notably attempted to correlate the nature of the different iron phases in the carbon nanotube-metal-oxide powders with the formation mechanisms of the nanotubes. Massive composites and hydrogen storage are proposed as possible applications.