Structural and morphological control of aligned nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes

Abstract Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (CNx–NTs) were prepared using a floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition method. Melamine precursor was employed to effectively control nitrogen content within the CNx–NTs and modulate their structure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis of the nitrogen bonding demonstrates the nitrogen-incorporation profile according to the precursor amount, which indicates the correlation between the nitrogen concentration and morphology of nanotubes. With the increase of melamine amount, the growth rate of nanotubes increases significantly, and the inner structure of CNx–NTs displayed a regular morphology transition from straight and smooth walls (0 at.% nitrogen) to cone-stacked shapes or bamboo-like structure (1.5%), then to corrugated structures (3.1% and above). Both XPS and CHN group results indicate that the nitrogen concentration of CNx–NTs remained almost constant even after exposing them to air for 5 months, revealing superior nitrogen stability in CNTs. Raman analysis shows that the intensity ratio of D to G bands (ID/IG) of nanotubes increases with the melamine amount and position of G-band undergoes a down-shift due to increasing nitrogen doping. The aligned CNx–NTs with modulated morphology, controlled nitrogen concentration and superior stability may find potential applications in developing various nanodevices such as fuel cells and nanoenergetic functional components.