Chemical method of filling carbon nanotubes with magnetic material

A versatile chemical method is used to fill multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with magnetic material. The process appears to open up tips of 100% of MWCNTs that are observed but the filling yield is rather low. The filling yield improved greatly by introducing metal chelating polymer, chitosan, in the nanotubes. Mössbauer measurements of the filled MWCNTs suggest the presence of magnetic and non-magnetic phases of Fe nanoparticles. The hyperfine magnetic field of the magnetic phase increased from its room temperature value of 182–251 kOe at 20 K.