Systematic Studies on Carbon Nanotubes Synthesis from Aliphatic Alcohols by the CVD Floating Catalyst Method

Abstract

Systematic studies on carbon nanotubes synthesis from aliphatic alcohols by a floating catalyst chemical vapour deposition (CVD) route are presented. Solutions of eight aliphatic alcohols (from methanol to decanol) saturated with ferrocene (as the catalyst source) were pyrolysed in a tubular furnace under flowing argon at temperature of 850uC. Single-walled carbon nanotubes were obtained from alcohols containing one to six carbon atoms, while carbon feedstocks with longer carbon chains yielded primarily multi-walled carbon nanotubes and carbon-encapsulated magnetic nanoparticles. It was found that the pyrolysis of alcohols containing four to five carbon atoms results in the highest purity of single-walled nanotubes. The length of carbon chain in alcohol molecules also influenced the product crystallinity. The optimum length of the carbon chain was derived from additional thermodynamic calculations.

Continuous and catalyst free synthesis of graphene sheets in thermal plasma jet

“…The yield is higher for other alcohols and rises nearly linearly with decreasing of the oxygen to carbon ratio ( Figure 1). It was an expected finding because the available amount of graphite is higher for higher aliphatic alcohols [50]. Accordingly, the highest yield of 0.061 was obtained for decanol.…”

Synthesis of Carbon Nanotubes of Few Walls Using Aliphatic Alcohols as a Carbon Source

“…Some reports have mentioned the use of alcohols as carbon source for the CNTs and have completed a systematic study of the product regarding the effect of the alcohol carbon length, catalysts used and/or changes with the CVD method [ 6 ]. In a recent work by Bystrzejewski et al , they mention the use of alcohols ranging from methanol to decanol, where they obtained single walled nanotubes (SWNT) from alcohols of one to six carbon atoms and multiwall nanotubes (MWNT) with longer chain alcohols, stating that carbon chains in alcohol molecules influence the crystallinity of the product [ 6 ]. Nevertheless, the reported synthesis implies a low rate production method, since it takes around three hours to produce quantities between 200 and 400 mg of product.…”

Highly Optimized Nitrogen-Doped MWCNTs through In-Depth Parametric Study Using Design of Experiments

“…The outstanding mechanical, thermal, and electronic properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have made them a subject of intensive research within the last decades [1,2]. Therefore, the quantity of published information regarding fabrication [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10], characterization [11,12,13,14,15], functionalization [16,17,18,19], and possible applications [20,21,22,23,24,25] of single- and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) is comprehensive. Among these topics, doping is a crucial strategy to modify the electronic behavior and surface reactivity of CNTs, expanding their application to the creation of flexible electronics [26], energy conversion/storage [22,27,28], devices, and catalysts [20,24,29].…”

“…A common approach to doping CNTs is the addition of a nitrogen-containing compound to the precursor mixture of the CNTs’ synthesis by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Such methodology offers a flexible [4], low-cost [34], and scalable [3,34] solution, especially when compared to methods such as laser ablation [35], pyrolysis [36] or arc discharge [37]. The CVD process essentially consists of thermally decomposing a vaporized reaction feedstock to form elemental carbon which subsequently reorganizes in graphitic, tubular shape on a catalyst surface [34,38,39].…”