Researchers Make Carbon Nanotubes without Metal Catalyst

Scientists at MIT have synthesised carbon nanotubes using zirconium oxide.

Carbon nanotubes have intrigued material scientists since the 1990s, but the commercial applications of the nanomaterial have been limited. One reason for this, is that the metals used to synthesise nanotubes react unfavourably with materials found in circuits and composites. But now, researchers at MIT have shown that nanotubes can be created using zirconium oxide instead of a metal catalyst.

Nanotubes have been traditionally created using elements such as iron, gold and cobalt. But these can be toxic and pose problems in cleanroom environments. The use of metals in nanotube synthesis makes it difficult to view the formation process using infrared spectroscopy, a challenge that has kept researchers in the dark about some of the aspects of nanotube growth.

“I think this fundamentally changes the discussion about how we understand carbon nanotubes synthesis,” says Brian Wardle, MIT professor of aeronautics and astronautics who led the study. Wardle adds that some researchers might find the result controversial since no one has ever proven that anything other than a metal can grow a nanotube. “People report new metals [as catalysts] every so often,” he says. “But now we have a whole new class of catalyst and new mechanism to understand and debate.”

More information on the research is available from the MIT News Office.

Tags: carbon nanotubes, metal catalyst, MIT, nanotubes, zirconium oxide