Aligned carbon nanotube growth under oxidative ambient

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are always produced under a reductive ambient with hydrogen present using the chemical vapor deposition method. Oxidative media, such as carbon dioxide and oxygen, could damage the tubular structures by opening the nanotube ends or etching the tube walls. Here we report the synthesis of aligned defective, but clean, CNTs in the presence of water vapor. The tube walls were found broken as well as the tube ends. CNTs with a large amount of exposed broken sites on their tube walls have potential applications in many areas such as energy storage.