MgO负载Fe基催化剂选择性合成单/双/多壁碳纳米管

通过浸渍及水热处理获得MgO负载的Fe基催化剂,并将其用于化学气相沉积过程裂解甲烷获得碳纳米管.结果表明,单/双/多壁碳纳米管可选择性地生长在Fe负载量不同的Fe/MgO催化剂上.当Fe负载量仅为0.5%时,铁原子在载体表面烧结为0.8～1.2nm的铁颗粒,碳在这种小颗粒上以表面扩散为主,导致单壁碳纳米管形成,并且单壁碳纳米管的选择性高达90%.当Fe负载量提高到3%时,铁原子聚集成约2.0nm的颗粒,在化学气相沉积中生长碳纳米管时,碳在Fe催化剂颗粒中的体相扩散的贡献增大,在表相扩散和体相扩散的共同作用下,双壁碳纳米管的选择性显著增高.当进一步增加Fe负载量时,铁原子烧结形成1～8nm的颗粒,经过化学气相沉积,在催化剂上生长了单、双、多壁碳纳米管.随着Fe在MgO载体上负载量的增加,管径、管壁数以及半导体管的含量都增加.本研究提供了一种适合大批量选择性生长单/双/多壁碳纳米管的方法.     

The use of NH3 to promote the production of large-diameter single-walled carbon nanotubes with a narrow (n,m) distribution

We demonstrate here a simple and effective (n,m)-selective growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in an aerosol floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process by introducing a certain amount of ammonia (NH(3)). Chiralities of carbon nanotubes produced in the presence of 500 ppm NH(3) at 880 °C are narrowly distributed around the major semiconducting (13,12) nanotube with over 90% of SWCNTs having large chiral angles in the range 20°-30°, and nearly 50% in the range 27°-29°. The developed synthesis process enables chiral-selective growth at high temperature for structurally stable carbon nanotubes with large diameters.     

直流电电化学沉积镍制备原位生长碳纳米管化学修饰电极

利用直流电电化学沉积法将生长碳纳米管(CNT)的催化剂镍均匀地附着在石墨电极(GE)表面,再通过化学气相沉积法制备得到原位生长碳纳米管化学修饰电极(GSCNT-CME).电化学沉积的金属镍和所制备的修饰电极分别用光学显微镜、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和电子能谱(EDX)进行表征,所得修饰电极的电化学性能用[Fe(CN)6]3-/[Fe(CN)6]4-溶液进行表征.结果表明:经直流电电化学沉积,可以在石墨电极表面沉积一层致密的金属镍,能生长出管径均匀的碳纳米管,所制得的修饰电极具有良好的电化学响应灵敏性和准确性,可在电化学检测领域发挥重要的应用.     

氧化铝模板上定向纳米碳管的快速生长及超声切短

在阳极氧化铝（AAO）模板上电沉积催化剂,快速生长了定向纳米碳管,纳米碳管以顶部生长模式生长.采用了超声的方法来切短露头于AAO模板的纳米碳管,增加纳米碳管膜的定向性.结果显示随着超声时间的增加,纳米碳管的定向性增加.位于纳米碳管膜顶部的催化剂在碳管切短的同时被去除,得到了顶部开口的纳米碳管.解释了纳米碳管被超声切短的机理.     

Vertically aligned carbon nanotube based electrodes: Fabrication, characterisation and prospects

We present a methodology to fabricate carbon nanotube based electrodes using plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition. The metal catalyst nanoparticles used to promote nanotube growth are removed using a water plasma treatment in combination with an acid attack. The final integrated microelectrode-based devices present excellent electrocatalytic properties that make them suitable for electrochemical applications. The presented methodology enables the construction of highly regular and dense vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) forests that can be confined within the patterned bounds of a desired surface. These VACNT electrodes display very low capacitive currents and are amenable to further chemical modifications.     

High-density growth of carbon nanotubes with catalytic sites activated on nickel substrate

We describe the growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) from catalytic nanoparticles formed on a nickel surface. For the growth of CNTs, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) furnace was set up and ethanol was used as carbon source. Observation of SEM images shows that CNTs grew densely on the nickel surface and that nanoparticles play a key role in the growth of the CNTs. XRD and Raman analyses reveal that the obtained products have graphitic pattern of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Also HRTEM images confirm clearly that the product was a MWCNT and their diameter was in the range of 20–50 nm.     

Multiwall carbon nanotubes made of monochirality graphite shells

A multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) consists of several or many concentric carbon shells, each of which could be metallic or semiconducting. Both theoretical predictions and experimental results suggest that MWCNTs have exotic electronic structures and intriguing transport properties, which are highly dependent on chirality of each shell. However, the structural defects and the random distribution of chirality of each concentric graphitic shell make the MWCNTs difficult for basic research and technological applications. Thus far, it is still a challenge to get the high crystalline MWCNTs with limited atomic conformation. Here, we report the synthesis of high crystalline MWCNTs made of monochirality graphite shells by a low-temperature chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process in plasma environment. Structural analysis, carried out by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image and electron diffraction methods, reveal that the MWCNTs are well-crystallized and that most of them have nearly identical chiralities.     

Floating catalyst CVD synthesis of carbon nanotubes from CpFe(CO)2X (X = Me, I): Poisoning effects of I

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), carbon fibers (CFs) and carbon spheres (CSs) were synthesized by an injection chemical vapour deposition (CVD) method using toluene solutions of CpFe(CO)₂Me as catalyst. The effect of pyrolysis temperature (800-1000 °C), catalyst concentration (5 and 10 wt% in toluene) and solution injection rate (0.2 and 0.8 ml/min) on the type and yield of carbonaceous product synthesized was investigated. The carbonaceous materials were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and Raman spectroscopy. The use of CpFe(CO)₂I as catalyst generated only carbon fibres and balls (wide range of conditions). Studies involving the addition of I₂ to catalyst solutions confirmed the poisoning effect of I on CNT production.     

Electrocatalytic properties of platinum nanoparticles supported on fluorine tin dioxide/multi-walled carbon nanotube composites for methanol electrooxidation in acidic medium

Fluorine tin oxide (FTO) and multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composites synthesized by a sol-gel process followed by a hydrothermal treatment process have been explored as a support for Pt nanoparticles (Pt-FTO/MWCNTs). X-ray diffraction analysis and high resolution transmission electron microscopy show that the Pt and FTO nanoparticles with crystallite size of around 4-8 nm are highly dispersed on the surface of MWCNTs. Pt-FTO/MWCNT catalyst is evaluated in terms of the electrochemical catalytic activity for methanol electrooxidation using cyclic voltammetry, steady state polarization experiments, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy technique in acidic medium. The Pt-FTO/MWCNT catalyst exhibits a higher intrinsic catalytic activity for methanol electrooxidation with high stability during potential cycling than Pt nanoparticles supported on tin dioxide/multi-walled carbon nanotube composites. The results suggest that FTO/MWCNT composites could be considered as an alternative support for Pt-based electrocatalysts in direct alcohol fuel cells.     

Synthesis and electrochemical characterization of sol–gel-derived RuO2/carbon nanotube composites

Ruthenium oxide was coated on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) to obtain nanocomposite electrode which has a good response to the pH. To synthesize this electrode, gold and cobalt were coated on a stainless steel 304 substrates, respectively, and then, vertically aligned carbon nanotubes were grown on the prepared substrates by chemical vapor deposition. Gold reduced activity of the stainless steel, while cobalt served as a catalyst for growth of the carbon nanotube. Ruthenium oxide was then coated on MWCNTs via sol–gel method. At last, different techniques were used to characterize the properties of synthesized electrode including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and cyclic voltammetry. SEM results showed that the length of the carbon nanotubes varied with reaction time, and in this research, it was maintained around 9 μm with a diameter about 100 nm. Electrochemical analysis revealed that optimum sol concentration and heat treatment temperature to meet the best pH sensing response were 0.1 M RuCl₃ sol and 200 °C, respectively. Moreover, the obtained electrode represented a linear and near-Nernstian response (about ?63 mV/pH) throughout the whole pH range (2–12) of Britton–Robinson buffer solutions.     

Acetylene Sorption Dynamics in Carbon Nanotubes

Single‐walled and multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT and MWNT, resp.) were prepared by applying the catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) technique. Different nanotube samples were obtained from the as‐synthesized carbon/catalyst composites by treatments applied to remove the catalyst and the amorphous carbon. The dynamic and equilibrium adsorption properties of the samples were compared. Acetylene was used as an adsorptive probe. The sorption mass‐transport properties have been characterized by applying the frequency response (FR) technique. Results reflected that the surface functional groups, generated by an oxidative treatment, have significant influence on both the static and the dynamic acetylene sorption properties of the carbon nanotube materials. The rate of acetylene mass transport was governed by the rate of sorption in all the samples, except in MWNT after oxidative treatment, where the intracrystalline diffusion in the nanotubes was the rate‐controlling process.     

Synthesis and characterization of unbranched and branched multi-walled carbon nanotubes using Cu as catalyst

Unbranched and branched carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were synthesized by catalytic chemical vapor deposition from methane at 900 °C over a Cu/MgO catalyst. Morphology and structure of the CNTs were characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The effect of methane flow rate on the CNT growth was investigated. The results suggest that the products were transformed from unbranched to branched CNTs with an increase in methane flow rate. The simplicity and controllability of such a preparation technique make it a promising method to synthesize different carbon nanotube structures.     

In situ TA-MS study of the six-membered-ring-based growth of carbon nanotubes with benzene precursor

By using the in situ thermal analysis-mass spectroscopic technique, combined with transmission electron microscopic characterization of the carbon nanotube (CNT) product, we have studied the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth of CNTs with Fe-Co/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst and benzene precursor in the range of room temperature to 700 degrees C. The growth process has been clearly illuminated, which starts from the reduction of catalyst around 645 degrees C followed by the dissociation of carbon-hydrogen bonds of benzene and the sequential growth of CNTs. A surprising fact is that no possible hydrocarbon species derived from benzene was detected, indicating that the carbon-carbon bond was not broken under our experimental conditions. All of the experimental results strongly reinforce the six-membered-ring-based growth model, and a schematic elucidation is presented accordingly. This in situ study not only reveals the unique and convincing information directly related to the growth mechanism from the involved chemistry, but also provides a powerful way to clarify the mechanism of CVD synthesis of CNTs with other precursors.     

Rapid growth and flow-mediated nucleation of millimeter-scale aligned carbon nanotube structures from a thin-film catalyst

We discuss the rapid growth of films and lithographically templated microstructures of vertically aligned small-diameter multiwalled carbon nanotubes (VA-MWNTs), by atmospheric-pressure thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of C2H4/H2/Ar on a Fe/Al2O3 catalyst film deposited by electron beam evaporation. The structures grow to 1 mm height in 15 min and reach close to 2 mm in 60 min. The growth rate and final height of CNT microstructures grown from catalyst patterns depend strongly on the local areal density of catalyst, representing a reverse analogue of loading effects which occur in plasma etching processes. Abrupt transitions between areas of micrometer-thick tangled CNT films and millimeter-scale aligned CNT structures are manipulated by changing the duration of pretreatment by H2/Ar prior to introduction of C2H4 and by changing the configuration of the substrate sample in the furnace tube. This demonstrates that the flow profile over the sample mediates the supply of reactants to the catalyst and that pretreatment using H2 significantly affects the initial activity of the catalyst.     

Template-free directional growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes on a- and r-plane sapphire

We report high-throughput growth of highly aligned single-walled carbon nanotube arrays on a-plane and r-plane sapphire substrates. This is achieved using chemical vapor deposition with ferritin as the catalyst. The nanotubes are aligned normal to the [0001] direction for growth on the a-plane sapphire. They are typically tens of micrometers long, with a narrow diameter distribution of 1.34 +/- 0.30 nm. In contrast, no orientation was achieved for growth on the c-plane and m-plane sapphire, or when Fe films, instead of ferritin, were used as the catalyst. Such orientation control is likely related to the interaction between carbon nanotubes and the sapphire substrate, which is supported by the observation that when a second layer of nanotubes was grown, they followed the gas flow direction. These aligned nanotube arrays may enable the construction of integrable and scalable nanotube devices and systems.     

Monitoring the chemical vapor deposition growth of multiwalled carbon nanotubes by tapered element oscillating microbalance

The growth of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) produced by a catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) process has been monitored using a tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM) probe. This technique displays a high sensitivity (<1 microg). Growths in the TEOM microreactor are investigated with catalytic particles (Fe, Ni) dispersed on different supports. First, high surface area FeAl2O3 or Fe (Ni) exchanged on zeolite powders is used. Second, growths are performed on array of nickel dots or FeSi-nc particles dispersed on large holes patterned on Si(100) substrates. An accurate monitoring of the early stages of growth permits a precise evaluation of the growth rates and shows substantial differences between these samples which greatly differ by the surface area. On catalysts dispersed on Si(100) the mass uptake is linear throughout the process. On high surface area catalysts, however, a saturation of the mass uptake is indifferently observed. This saturation is explained either by diffusion limitation by the growing MWCNTs or by internal diffusion through the pores or external diffusion through the grains of the catalyst. The kinetic dependence with partial pressure of the incoming C2H6:H2 gas mixture is then explored on the FeAl2O3 catalyst. A linear dependence of the MWCNT growth an (P(C2H6)/P(H2))(1/2) is found. A simple model is then developed that accounts for this dependence only if an associative and competitive adsorption of ethane is the rate determining step of the overall process. These results thus bring insight to improve and control the CCVD growth kinetics of MWCNTs.     

CVD Growth of Carbon Nanotubes and Nanofibers: Big Length and Constant Diameter

Summary: We report mass production of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and carbon nanofibers (CNFs) with relatively high length and aspect ratio. We synthesized carbon nanomaterials by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of methane as the feeding gas on Fe/Mo nanoparticles that use alumina-aerogel support. Alumina-aerogel-supported Fe/Mo catalyst was prepared using sol-gel. Drying step performed using rotary evaporation and freeze-drying. CVD was performed using a quartz tube furnace. Samples were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy.     

Control of carbon capping for regrowth of aligned carbon nanotubes

The regrowth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in a second growth stage after a first growth stage has been completely stopped has been found to be strongly related to the carbon capping present on their catalyst particles. It is shown that the undesirable carbon capping can be prevented from forming or removed and the nanotube growth can be rejuvenated by either control of plasma processing conditions during chemical vapor deposition or by inserting a room-temperature sputter etching process. The ability to cause sequential growth stages to take place in different directions makes it possible for us to clearly compare the occurrence and extent of CNT regrowth. Such a CNT regrowth process and understanding of controlling parameters can enable the creation of new nanowire configurations that could potentially be used for applications such as sharply bending nanointerconnections, nanosprings, bent AFM nanoprobes, or nanobarcodes.     

Carbon Nanotubes: An Example of Multiscale Development—A Mechanistic View from the Subnanometer to the Meter Scale

We summarize the catalytic synthesis of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The current understanding of the reaction mechanism is presented, in particular the catalyst design for the CCVD process is analyzed. To complement that, kinetics and reaction engineering aspects are discussed along with the impact of the reaction and reactor operation on the product properties. All these issues are analyzed from the perspective of the industrial synthesis and implications for the application of carbon nanotubes. Carbon‐nanotube technology is a perfect example of multi‐scale development and covers challenges from the nanometer to the meter scale. Problems, methods, and solutions characteristic for different scales will be highlighted. The Co/Mn catalyst is used as reference as one of the first commercially used technologies for the scalable production of multiwall carbon nanotubes.     

Isothermal and Non-Isothermal Crystallization Kinetics and Morphology of Poly(trimethylene terephthalate)/Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Composites

Summary: Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) synthesized using chemical vapor deposition method were dispersed in poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT, Mv = 88,000) by melt compounding technique using DMS microcompounder. The nanocomposites consisting of varying amounts of MWCNTs were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The effect of carbon nanotubes on the crystallization behavior (under isothermal and non isothermal crystallization conditions) of PTT was studied using DSC. The presence of carbon nanotubes didn't show any significant effect on crystallization temperature of PTT matrix under non-isothermal conditions. Crystallization studies under isothermal conditions were carried out at different temperatures i.e 185, 190, 195 and 200 °C. Complete crystallization was observed within 60 sec at 185 °C whereas at 200 °C, longer time was required for complete crystallization. Crystal growth was also investigated using hot stage polarizing microscope (PLM). The effect of annealing time at 200 °C was investigated in the presence as well as in the absence of varying amounts of MWCNTs. Spherulitic growth was seen and the spherulite size in all the samples increased with annealing time. Morphological characterization using SEM and TEM showed a uniform dispersion of MWCNTs and poor compatibility with PTT matrix.