Review An overview on methods for the production of carbon nanotubes N.M. Mubarak a,b , E.C. Abdullah c , N.S. Jayakumar a , J.N. Sahu a,d, * a Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia b Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UCSI University Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia c Malaysia–Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT) , Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Jalan Semarak, 54100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia d Department of Petroleum and Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Institut Teknologi Brunei (ITB), BE1410, Brunei Contents 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 000 2. Production of carbon nanotubes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 000 2.1. Electric-arc discharge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 000 2.2. Laser ablation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 000 2.3. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 000 2.3.1. Advantages of CVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 000 3. Comparison of nanotube synthesis methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 000 4. Factors influencing the growth mechanism of carbon nanotubes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 000 5. Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 000 Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 000 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 000 1. Introduction Nowadays, many researches [1–4] concentrate on the field of carbon. The most popular is the identification of the structure of the fullerenes in 1985 by Kroto et al. [1]. A further study in 1991 by Iijima [2] discovered the multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), whereas the SWCNTs were independently discovered by Iijima and Ichihashi [3] and Bethune et al. [4]. Earlier to the discovery of nanotubes, the significance of the investigations made on carbon fibres with diameters bigger than 7 nm was not clear until the connection between fullerenes and nanotubes was revealed. One of the articles [5] that reported about the decade of discovery of nanotubes, it is e.g. stated that nanotubes were unintentionally produced by chemists experimenting on methane in the late nineteenth century [6]. In 1960, nanoscale scrolls of graphite were produced by Bacon [7]. The truth is that Iijima who has generated a mixture of scrolls and tubes by using his own procedure [8–10], suggests that Bacon may have also done this. In 1976 Oberlin et al. [11] clearly showed a hollow carbon fibre with nanometer-scale diameters using a vapor-growth technique. Wiles and Abrahamson [12] in 1979, found ‘‘mats of small fibres’’ on one electrode when sparks were passed between two graphite electrodes. Gibson [13] reported that, Davis et al. [14] were the first to see a nanotube, but some researchers like Monthioux and Kuznetso [15] in 2006, Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry xxx (2013) xxx–xxx A R T I C L E I N F O Article history: Received 28 March 2013 Accepted 1 September 2013 Available online xxx Keywords: Carbon nanotubes Chemical vapor deposition Arc discharge Laser ablation A B S T R A C T Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are one of the most exciting discoveries in nanoscale sciences. A brief survey of experimental work directed towards the synthesis of CNTs has been discussed. The various methods of production of CNTs are explained outlining their capabilities, efficiencies and possible exploitation as economic large scale production. Among the discussed techniques, the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) appears to be the most potential way to produce high quality of CNTs at high yield. The advantages of CVD over other techniques are also explained and the effects of process parameter on the synthesis of these nanomaterials are discussed. ß 2013 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author. Tel.: +60 3 79675295, fax: +60 3 79675319. E-mail addresses: mubarak.yaseen@gmail.com (N.M. Mubarak), jnsahu@um.edu.my, jay_sahu@yahoo.co.in (J.N. Sahu). G Model JIEC-1532; No. of Pages 12 Please cite this article in press as: N.M. Mubarak, et al., J. Ind. Eng. Chem. (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jiec.2013.09.001 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry jou r n al h o mep ag e: w ww .elsevier .co m /loc ate/jiec 1226-086X/$ – see front matter ß 2013 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jiec.2013.09.001