Need Help Creating Carbon Nanotube
I'm pretty close now.
What have I done wrong so that it looks like this and not smooth like MechMachineMan's post
This is how you make Carbon Nanotubes 
| United States Patent No.: | 7,556,789 B2 |
| Date of Patent: | July 7, 2009 |
Low temperature synthesis of carbon nanotubes
Abstract: Low temperature methods for synthesizing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) comprise decomposing a halogenated hydrocarbon in a fluid in the presence of a catalyst where the catalyst catalyzes the formation of a carbon phase comprising nanotubes…. In preferred embodiments, the catalyst comprises a metal encapsulated dendrimer molecule.
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Example 1
Synthesis of 16:1, Iron Encapsulated Dendrimer
Generation “4” PPI dendrimer, 0.4156 g (commercial product of Sigma-Aldrich) is dissolved in 20 mL of water. A separate solution is made by adding FeCl3 .6H2 O, 0.5123 g to 20 mL of water. The two solutions are combined and mixed for one hour. The solution becomes dark brown to red. A third solution is made by dissolving sodium borohydride, 0.3303 g in 15 mL of water. The sodium borohydride solution is added dropwise to the combined dendrimer/iron chloride solution. The solution turns brown to black, a noticeable solid forms, and gas evolves. The combined solutions are mixed one hour after the addition of the sodium borohydride. The reaction mixture is centrifuged and the solvent is decanted. The reaction product is black. The material is dried for 48 hours.
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Example 2
Iron PPI Dendrimer CNT Growth (Room Temperature)
In a round bottom flask, 0.062 g of the iron dendrimer catalyst of Example 1, 12 mL benzene, 2.7 mL tetrachloroethylene, and 0.99 g potassium are combined in an inert atmosphere. Potassium is trimmed with a razor blade prior to combining with the other ingredients in the round bottom flask in order to remove surface oxides. The mixture is stirred for one week in the round bottom flask in an inert atmosphere at room temperature. Afterward, the flask is removed from the inert atmospheric conditions. The potassium is removed and cleaned in a series of washes with t-butyl alcohol, methanol, and water. The reaction product is isolated by centrifugation and decantation of the liquid. Transmission electron microscopy shows the presence of CNTs in the reaction products, with observable diameters on the order of 15-20 nm. Raman spectroscopy shows graphitic peaks corresponding to MWNT growth.
Thanks you all for your insight, it is greatly appreciated. I'm not getting those errors anymore, and I would say I'm on the right track so far.
