Long and narrow diameter carbon nanotubes and catalysts for producing same
A bundle of carbon nanotubes (CNT), comprising a plurality of CNT with lengths of at least about 7 microns, wherein the bundle has a diameter of less than about 12 nm.
1. A single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) bundle, comprising:
a catalyst construction, comprising:
a metal oxide support;
nanoclusters of active metal nanoparticles, wherein the active metal nanoparticles comprise at least one of cobalt, molybdenum, and nickel; and
a group of SWCNT made up of a plurality of separate, closely-spaced SWCNT grown on the active metal nanoparticles,
wherein most of the SWCNT have diameters of less than one nanometer, wherein a length of the bundle is at least 7 microns, and wherein the bundle has a diameter of less than 12 nm.
2. The SWCNT bundle of claim 1 , wherein at least some of the SWCNT are straight.
3. The SWCNT bundle of claim 1 , wherein at least about 90% of the SWCNT have a diameter of less than 1 nm.
4. The SWCNT bundle of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst construction comprises about the same weight percent of cobalt and molybdenum.
5. The SWCNT bundle of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst construction comprises a molybdenum to cobalt weight ratio of less than 1.
6. The SWCNT bundle of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst construction comprises about 0.1 weight percent cobalt and a molybdenum to cobalt weight ratio of about 0.5.
7. The SWCNT bundle of claim 1 , wherein at least some of the nanoclusters have a size in the range of from about 0.6 nm to about 1.0 nm.
8. The SWCNT bundle of claim 1 with a length to diameter (L/D) aspect ratio of at least about 1,000.
9. The SWCNT bundle of claim 1 , wherein the SWCNT purity is at least about 95%.
10. The SWCNT bundle of claim 1 , wherein the active metal makes up less than 0.2 wt % of the catalyst construction.