Synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles and their effect on growth of carbon nanotubes

Abstract

A series of spinel ferrite nanoparticles viz. manganese ferrite (MnFe2O4), zinc ferrlte (ZnFe2O4), cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) and nickel ferrite (NIFe2O4) were prepared by solvotherma! process. X-Ray diffraction patterns show that the synthesized ferrite samples are pure without any impurities. The as-prepared ferritcs were further used as a precursor catalyst for the growth of CNTs using thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique. Results show that these ferrites acted as effective catalysts for the growth of carbon nanotubes. The as-grown nanotubes were studied by electron microscope (FE-SEM). Further studies like Raman spectroscopy and VSM analysis were also done to evaluate the properties of the as-prepared catalyst and the as-grown carbon nanotubes.