Intercalated multiwall carbon nanotubes with cobalt: structure and properties

Abstract

The possibility of obtaining intercalation compound with cobalt based on multiwall carbon nanotubes is considered. For intercalation the two-stage method using an intercalation compound with potassium as a precursor has been chosen. To determine the structural features of the obtained compound and the distribution of the metal in it the intercalated multiwall carbon nanotubes have been studied by X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy and thermagnetometry methods. It is shown that intercalated by cobalt multiwall carbon nanotubes are third stage compounds in which atomically distributed cobalt is into the interplanar space of nanotubes. Studies of electrical resistance have found that for intercalated multiwall carbon nanotubes, in contrast to graphite intercalation compounds, resistivity increases after intercalation process. The changes of conduction mechanisms in multiwall carbon nanotubes after intercalation have been also analyzed.

Keywords:

• Charge transfer
• cobalt
• conductivity
• intercalation compound
• multiwall carbon nanotubes
• two-stage intercalation