Structural studies of carbon nanotubes obtained by template deposition using high-energy X-ray scattering

High-energy X-ray diffraction has been used to study the structure of multi-wall carbon nanotubes, produced by template pyrolytic carbon deposition from thermal decomposition of propylene inside channels of an alumina membrane. X-ray diffraction intensities were measured on the powdered samples employing an image plate detector, integrated over the diffraction rings and converted to a radial distribution function by the Fourier transform. Defective hexagonal networks, generated by introducing the pentagon-heptagon pairs were rolled up to form regular cylinders and relaxed with a conjugate-gradient algorithm using the Brenner-Tersoff potential. A comparison of the simulated and experimental radial distribution functions shows that the model of the multi-wall carbon nanotubes, based on the defective nanotube structures, accounts very well for the experimental data.