Effects of carrier gas dynamics on single wall carbon nanotube chiral distributions during laser vaporization synthesis

We report on the utility of modifying the carrier gas dynamics during laser vaporization synthesis to alter the single wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) chiral distribution. SWNTs produced from an Alexandrite laser using conventional Ni/Co catalysts demonstrate marked differences in chiral distributions due to effects of helium gas and reactor chamber pressure, in comparison to conventional sub-ambient pressures and argon gas. Optical absorption and Raman spectroscopies confirm that the SWNT diameter distribution decreases under higher pressure and with helium gas as opposed to argon. Fluorescence mapping of the raw soots in sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS)-D2O was used to estimate the relative (n, m)-SWNT content of the semiconducting types. A predominance of type 11 structures for each synthesis condition was observed. The distribution of SWNT chiral angles was observed to shift away from near-armchair configurations under higher pressure and with helium gas. These results illustrate the importance of gas type and pressure on the condensation/cooling rate, which allows for synthesis of specific SWNT chiral distributions.