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Hydrocarbons such as methane, ethylene, and CO with high purity (> 99.9%) have been widely used to synthesize single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Here, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was used to synthesize SWCNTs by catalytic chemical vapor deposition. The LPG converted into CNTs and other stable hydrocarbons. The BET specific surface area of SWCNT was about 583 m²/g. The as-grown SWCNT showed good graphitization. The graphitization can be further modulated by the growth temperature. Certain amount of sulfur in LPG was a promoter for SWCNT growth. Compared SWCNTs obtained from methane, more semiconductive SWCNTs were synthesized from LPG as carbon source. The LPG is in low price, thus, a methodology to lower the production cost of SWCNTs with hydrocarbon mixtures is realized.

We present an efficient process for producing water dispersible graphene sheets from unassembled graphene–polyaniline nanohybrids. The result of atomic force microscopy reveals that over 80% of thus-prepared graphitic sheets are single layers with typical thickness of approximately 0.8 nm. The proportion of modifying molecules in the product is found to be as low as 3.0 wt.%, as determined by elemental analysis. Along with its fascinating water dispersibility and remarkably high electrical conductivity, such material is anticipated to be very promising for use in graphene-based nanoelectronics and high-performance composites.