Production of Carbon Nanotubes by Different Routes-A Review

Carbon Nanotubes are one the most important materials of future. Discovered in 1991, they have reached a stage of attracting the interests of many companies world wide for their large scale production. They possess remarkable electrical, mechanical, optical, thermal and chemical properties, which make them a perfect “fit” for many engineering applications. In this paper various methods of production of carbon nanotubes are discussed outlining their capabilities, efficiencies and possible exploitation as economic large scale production methods. Chemical vapor disposition (CVD) is proposed as a potential method for economic large scale production of carbon nanotubes due to its relative simplicity of operation, process control, energy efficiency, raw materials used, capability to scale up as large unit operation, high yield and purity.