Structural Study of Sulfur-Added Carbon Nanohorns

Abstract

In the past few decades, nanostructured carbons (NCs) have been investigated for their interesting properties, which are attractive for a wide range of applications in electronic devices, energy systems, sensors, and support materials. One approach to improving the properties of NCs is to dope them with various heteroatoms. This work describes the synthesis and study of sulfur-added carbon nanohorns (S-CNH). Synthesis of S-CNH was carried out by modified chemical vapor deposition (m-CVD) using toluene and thiophene as carbon and sulfur sources, respectively. Some parameters such as the temperature of synthesis and carrier gas flow rates were modified to determine their effect on the properties of S-CNH. High-resolution scanning and transmission electron microscopy analysis showed the presence of hollow horn-type carbon nanostructures with lengths between 1 to 3 µm and, diameters that are in the range of 50 to 200 nm. Two types of carbon layers were observed, with rough outer layers and smooth inner layers. The surface textural properties are attributed to the defects induced by the sulfur intercalated into the lattice or bonded with the carbon. The XRD patterns and X-ray microanalysis studies show that iron serves as the seed for carbon nanohorn growth and iron sulfide is formed during synthesis.

Advances and Applications of Carbon Nanotubes

“…In total, twenty-three articles are published on this Topic in the participating journals Nanomaterials, Applied Sciences, and Materials. The presented knowledge embraces numerical simulations [2,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11] and/or experimental data [1,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23].…”

“…The other articles on this Topic delve into different experimental approaches for the synthesis of new (nano)materials or the development of new analytical tools. A large set of new (nano)materials is under scrutiny, namely, silica-microsphere-supported N-doped CNT for electromagnetic wave absorption [13], low crystallinity CNT arrays as potential gas sensors [14], synthesis of tin dioxide/CNT nanonests for use in lithium-ion batteries [15], 3D CNT monoliths for controlled adsorption [16], and six different CNT yarns prepared by various spinning methods [17], among others [18,19]. Further developments were focused on materials for civil infrastructures such as sand-gel composites [20], cementitious composites [4,21], and ultra-high-performance concrete [23].…”