Fabrication of single-walled carbon nanotube ropes from coal by an arc discharge method

Single-walled carbon nanotube ropes (SWCNTRs) were successfully fabricated on a large scale from coal-based composite carbon electrodes using the arc discharge method. The SWCNTRs obtained were characterized by TEM and Raman spectroscopy. Results show that the Taixi coal used in the present work is a sui￣table carbon source for the synthesis of high purity SWCNTRs in the presence of catalysts such as La and Ni. The diameter distribution of the obtained SWCNTRs varies from 1.80 to 2.01nm and the bimetal La/Ni catalyst plays a synergetic role in the catalytic synthesis of SWCNTRs.