Multiwalled carbon nanotubes with bamboo-like structure and effects of heat treatment

Microstructures of bamboo-like multiwalled carbon nanotubes prepared by pyrolysis of Ni-phthalocyanine are studied by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The intershell spacings of graphitic shells in these nanotubes are estimated. From pristine nanotubes with a tube diameter of 40–260 nm, the spacing values of 0.339–0.342 nm are obtained almost independent of their tube diameters. However, after heat treatment at 2800 °C they are reduced to a value equivalent to the interlayer spacing of graphite, and tube walls with a clear polygonal cross section come to be observed. The heat treatment of samples is also a very useful method to prepare metal-free nanotubes. The bamboo-like graphitic shells are interpreted to be determined by a cone-shaped Ni nanoparticle included at the base of the multiwalled carbon nanotube.