Synthesis of carbon nanotube using Ni catalyst prepared by laser ablation in water

Nano-size Ni particles prepared by laser ablation in water were used as catalyst for synthesizing carbon nanotubes by a thermal CVD method. The width of synthesized CNT was almost the same as the size of the Ni particles. It was found that hydrogen-reduction treatment of the Ni particles was necessary to obtain nanotubes, suggesting that surface of the colloidal particles were oxidized in the laser ablation process.