US Patent 7556789 - Low temperature CNT synthesis

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7556789.html

This patent from Central Michigan University teaches a carbon nanotube manufacturing method capable of being performed below 100 degrees centigrade and, in some embodiments, at room temperature using iron encapsulated dendrimers. Claim 1 reads:

1. A low temperature method for synthesizing carbon nanotubes, comprising:

decomposing a carbon source in a fluid in the presence of a catalyst under conditions where the catalyst catalyzes formation of a carbon phase comprising nanotubes;

wherein the carbon source comprises a halogenated hydrocarbon and the catalyst comprises a metal-encapsulated macromolecule, wherein the metal is selected from the group consisting of Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Mo, and W.