Effect of oxidative treatment on the electrochemical properties of aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes

Abstract

Vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were grown on the surface of electroconductive silicon substrate by catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) of a mixture of toluene and ferrocene vapors at 800°С. The anisotropic structure of the array that is due to the mutual orientation of MWNTs makes such materials attractive for use as supercapacitor electrodes. The effect of iron nanoparticles encapsulated in MWNTs as a result of synthesis on the electrochemical capacity of the sample in a 1 М H₂SO₄ solution was studied. Iron was removed during the thermal treatment of the MWNT array in a 20% H₂SO₄ solution under the normal or hydrothermal conditions. The contribution of redox processes involving iron was shown to be comparable to the contribution of the double-layer capacity of MWNTs. The hydrothermal treatment allows easy separation of the array from the silicon substrate without any loss of electric coupling of MWNTs.