Controllable and Large-Scale Synthesis of Carbon Nanostructures: A Review on Bamboo-Like Nanotubes

Bamboo-like carbon nanotubes are members of the carbon nanotubes (CNTs) family, whose structure is made up of separated hollow compartments and bamboo knots. Due to the peculiar structure of the CNTs species, the growth mechanism and related features have been widely investigated. Bamboo-like carbon nanotubes are widely applied in several fields, such as sensors, adsorbents, catalysts, and lithium-ion battery electrodes materials. Different methods have been applied for the synthesis of carbon nanotubes, among them, catalytic chemical vapor deposition has been singled out as the most used procedure due to low cost with a high quality product. The present review is devoted to increasing the literature dealing with the design, synthesis, and characterization of bamboo-like carbon nanotubes grown over different catalysts. Results on the methane dry reforming reaction, hydrocarbon thermal decomposition, special chemical vapor deposition as well as other methods applied to the preparation of bamboo-like carbon nanotubes are discussed. The differences in the carbon deposits between the dry reforming reaction and other reaction methods are compared and possible formation mechanisms of bamboo-like carbon nanotubes are discussed.