Different Pathways for Synthesis of WO3 and Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotube-Based Nanostructures

Abstract

The synthesis and investigation of vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) based materials are gaining more-and-more interest among scientists due to their specific properties (e.g., electrical, optical, mechanical). Therefore, our interest for the present research has focused on synthesis of WO3/VACNT based nanostructures (using carbon nanotube forests obtained by catalytic chemical vapor deposition—CCVD method on aluminum substrate) using different synthesis pathways and WO3 precursors. The obtained composites were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, while the obtained crystal structures were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Results have shown that depending on the synthesis method, and using as template the carbonaceous structure, we can successfully obtain non-stochiometric tungsten oxide (W18O49) or WO3 composites.