An efficient and inexpensive method for the production of multi-wall carbon nano tubes by the thermal plasma route

Abstract

An extended argon arc plasma reactor has been utilised for efficiently producing multi-walled carbon nano tubes (MWCNT) with an inexpensive raw material such as the calcined petroleum coke. In this investigation, CPC powder was dry mixed with 2.5 wt %, Ni catalyst in a ball mill and the resulting homogeneous raw material mixture was heat treated in a graphite crucible in a vacuum argon arc plasma reactor for the duration of 30 minutes. It was noted that carbon nano tubes (CNTs) were deposited on a relatively cooler portion of the plasma reactor, with a yield of 15 wt %, with respect to the total weight of the charge. The extensive characterization of the carbon nano-tubes was carried out through micro-Raman, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy techniques. The XRD studies on the CNTs, produced by the above method showed 100% peak at d 002 value of 3.39 Å and other peaks of 4-H graphite. The d-band and g-band reflections observed in the Raman spectrum of CNTs also showed graphite as a major and cubic diamond as a minor phase. The TEM studies on the plasma processed and purified CNTs, showed aspect ratio of 15 to 16 and an average diameter of 3.4 nm.

Rapid Preparation of MWCNTs/Epoxy Resin Nanocomposites by Photoinduced Frontal Polymerization

“…Currently, two modifying methods have been developed to improve the dispersion of CNTs: noncovalent and covalent modification. The former mainly includes ball milling, mechanical stirring, and ultrasonication [11][12][13]; the latter mainly involves the introduction of reactive groups, such as carboxyl, hydroxyl, and amino groups, onto the surface of CNTs by oxidizing and etching under the action of H 2 SO 4 and HNO 3 or other strong oxidants [14,15]. Epoxy resin (EP) is one of the most widely used thermosetting resins due to its excellent mechanical and bonding properties, chemical resistance, and processing simplicity [16][17][18][19].…”