Abstract
CAPPED hollow carbon nanotubes1,2 can be modified into nanocomposite fibres by simultaneous opening of the caps (by heating in the presence of air and lead metal) and filling of the interior with an inorganic phase3. To generalize this approach, greater understanding is needed of the reaction mechanism between the tube caps and oxygen. Here we report that the oxidation of carbon nanotubes in air for short durations above about 700 °C results in the etching away of the tube caps and the thinning of tubes through layer-by-layer peeling of the outer layers, starting from the cap region. The oxidation reaction follows an Arrhenius-type relation with an activation energy barrier of about 225 kJ mol−1 in air. Heating of closed nanotubes with an oxide (Pb3O4) in an inert atmosphere lowers the activation barrier for the reaction and opening of the tubes occurs at lower temperatures. Contrary to intuition, however, open tubes are much more difficult to fill with inorganic materials than in the one-step filling of tubes reported previously3. But various other experiments might be possible in the inner nano-cavities of the open tubes such as studies of catalysis and of low-dimensional chemistry and physics.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Iijima, S. Nature 354, 56–58 (1991).
Ebbesen, T. W. & Ajayan, P. M. Nature 358, 220–222 (1992).
Ajayan, P. M. & Iijima, S. Nature 361, 333–334 (1993).
Dresselhaus, M. S. et al. Graphite Fibers and Filaments (ed. Cardona, M.) 238–243 (Springer, Berlin, 1988).
Iijima, S., Ajayan, P. M. & Ichihashi, T. Phys. Rev. Lett. 69, 3100–3113 (1992).
Wudl, F. Acc. chem. Res. 25, 157–161 (1992).
Pederson, M. R. & Broughton, J. Q. Phys. Rev. Lett. 69, 2689–2692 (1992).
Saunders, M. et al. Science 259, 1428–1430 (1993).
Ball, P. Nature 361, 297 (1993).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ajayan, P., Ebbesen, T., Ichihashi, T. et al. Opening carbon nanotubes with oxygen and implications for filling. Nature 362, 522–525 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/362522a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/362522a0
This article is cited by
-
Utility of structural engineering on the monitoring of acrolein by aluminum nitride nano tube
Journal of Molecular Modeling (2024)
-
Oxidation-aided cap-removal of chemical vapor deposition-prepared single-wall carbon nanotubes
Adsorption (2023)
-
Suitability of Pristine Carbon Nanotube Yarn Tool for Material Removal by Electrical Discharges
Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance (2023)
-
Characterization of MWCNT and SWCNT functionalized by acid treatments and the effect of functionalized carbon nanotubes on electrical properties of PMMA-MWCNT and PMMA-SWCNT nanocomposites
Applied Nanoscience (2023)
-
Recent advances in functionalization of carbon nanosurface structures for electrochemical sensing applications: tuning and turning
Journal of Nanostructure in Chemistry (2022)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.