Fast production method of fe-filled carbon nanotubes

Highly efficient one-step microwave technique (MW) was applied to obtain long and aligned carbon nanotubes with or without Fe filling. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were produced by microwave-irradiation heating ferrocene Fe(C5H5)2 as a precursor in vacuum. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) were used to study the growth process of aligned carbon nanotubes during microwave heating. Formed CNTs have a metal particle at the tip of each tube. This carbon nanostructure promises attractive for nanoscale engineering of fuel cells and other systems.