a b s t r a c tCarbon nanotubes (CNTs) are pure carbon in nanostructures with unique physico-chemical properties. They have brought significant breakthroughs in different fields such as materials, electronic devices, energy storage, separation, sensors, etc. If the CNTs are ever to fulfill their promise as an engineering material, commercial production will be required. Catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) technique coupled with a suitable reactor is considered as a scalable and relatively low-cost process enabling to produce high yield CNTs. Recent advances on CCVD of CNTs have shown that fluidized-bed reactors have a great potential for commercial production of this valuable material. However, the dominating process parameters which impact upon the CNT nucleation and growth need to be understood to control product morphology, optimize process productivity and scale up the process. This paper discusses a general overview of the key parameters in the CVD formation of CNT. The focus will be then shifted to the fluidized bed reactors as an alternative for commercial production of CNTs.

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The effects of whiskerized carbon fibers (WCF) embedded as filler into polymer matrix were investigated. In this respect, composites consisting of pure polypropylene and also carbon fiber (CF)/polypropylene (PP) was fabricated and compared. Polypropylene matrix was reinforced with 2% concentration of WCF and prepared by a melt-mixing method. The tensile test indicated that the addition of 2% WCF enhanced the tensile strength and Young's modulus by 38.1% and 28.2%, respectively. Besides that, the elongation was decreased for that sample. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed an increase of 39.2% in the stiffness of the WCF/PP composite and an improvement in the storage modulus. The tan δ for the sample was also smaller than unfilled PP and CF/PP composites. Furthermore, thermogravimetric analyses in an inert atmosphere showed a shift of temperature to the higher temperature with the addition of fillers.