Nanotubes Formed by Detonation of C/N Precursors

Individual carbon nanotubes, both unfilled and containing metal nanocrystals in a string-of-beads-like arrangement, as shown in the Figure, can be obtained reproducibly by detonative decomposition of a hydrogen-free C/N precursor, it is reported here. This method may challenge traditional techniques for the synthesis of carbon nanotubes, which are energy and hardware intensive.