Catalytic effects of various metal carbides and Ti compounds for the growth of carbon nanocoils (CNCs)

The catalytic effect of various metal carbides and Ti compounds on the growth of carbon nanocoils (CNCs) was examined. TiC was the most effective carbides for the preparation of the CNCs. Furthermore, some other Ti compounds were also used as catalysts, and pure CNCs could be effectively produced using a NiTiO3 catalyst at 660–690 °C. On the other hand, CNCs were poorly obtained using the pure metals catalysts Ti, Ta, Mo, Cr and W. The CNCs obtained were generally twisted-forms with coil diameters of 100–600 nm and coil lengths of 1–3 mm, irrespective of the catalysts used.