Metal-free carbon nanotubes: synthesis, and enhanced intrinsic microwave absorption properties

In order to clearly understand the intrinsic microwave absorption properties of carbon nanomaterials, we proposed an efficient strategy to synthesize high purity metal-free carbon nanotubes (CNTs) over water-soluble K2CO3 particles through chemical vapor decomposition and water-washing process. The comparison results indicated the leftover catalyst caused negative effects in intrinsic microwave absorption properties of CNTs, while an enhanced microwave absorption performance could be observed over the metal-free CNT sample. Moreover, the results indicated that the microwave absorption properties could be tuned by the CNT content. Therefore, we provided a simple route to investigate the intrinsic properties of CNTs and a possible enhanced microwave absorbing mechanism.