Synthesis of carbon nanotubes with and without catalyst particles

The initial development of carbon nanotube synthesis revolved heavily around the use of 3d valence transition metals such as Fe, Ni, and Co. More recently, noble metals (e.g. Au) and poor metals (e.g. In, Pb) have been shown to also yield carbon nanotubes. In addition, various ceramics and semiconductors can serve as catalytic particles suitable for tube formation and in some cases hybrid metal/metal oxide systems are possible. All-carbon systems for carbon nanotube growth without any catalytic particles have also been demonstrated. These different growth systems are briefly examined in this article and serve to highlight the breadth of avenues available for carbon nanotube synthesis

Self-sustaining reductive defluorination of (CF)N and characterization of reaction products

Badano proces spalania mieszanin fluorowanego grafitu (CF)n z różnymi reduktorami: NaN₃, B, Ti, ZrTi, Si, CaSi₂, AlSi, TiSi, MoSi₂ i CrSi₂. Okazało się, że reakcje pomiędzy tymi substratami są dostatecznie szybkie i egzotermiczne, aby proces redukcyjnego defluorowania przebiegał w reżimie samopodtrzymującej się, wysokotemperaturowej syntezy. Wykonano pomiary ciepła reakcji oraz zbadano skład fazowy i mikrostrukturę skondensowanych produktów spalania. Obserwacje mikroskopowe ujawniły obecność rozwarstwionego grafitu we wszystkich próbkach. Nanometryczne struktury w formie włókien, prętów i krystalitów 3D także wykryto w większości produktów reakcji.Mixtures of fluorinated graphite (CF)n with different reductants, such as NaN₃, B, Ti, ZrTi, Si, CaSi₂, AlSi, TiSi, MoSi₂, and CrSi₂ were investigated. Reactions between these substrates are fast and exothermic enough to proceed in a high temperature self-sustaining regime. Heat effects accompanying the reactions were measured and the solid reaction products were analyzed. SEM observation revealed the presence of exfoliated graphite in each case. Nanostructures, like nanofibers, nanorods, nanospheres and nano-sized crystals, were also present in most of the products. Phase (XRD) and elemental composition as well as porous structure (N₂ adsorption) of chosen reaction products were also determined

Porous graphitic materials obtained from carbonization of organic xerogels doped with transition metal salts

Porous carbons with a well developed graphitic phase were obtained via the pyrolysis of FeCl3-, NiCl2-, and CoCl2-doped organic xerogels. Doping was realized through salt solubilization in a water/methanol solution of resorcinol and furfural. Carbon xerogels with tailored particles, porous morphology and various degrees of graphitization were obtained depending of the water/methanol ratio and the salt content and type in the starting solution of substrates.When obtained via pyrolysis, carbon xerogels retain the overall open-celled structure exhibiting depleted microporosity and a well-developed mesoporic region that expands into macropores. The removal of metal leads to carbon xerogels with specific surface areas between 170 and 585 m2/g and pore volume up to 0·76 cm3/g. The possibility of enhancing the porosity of xerogels via templating with colloidal silica was also investigated. It was assumed that from the three investigated salts, FeCl3 makes the best choice for graphitization catalyst precursor to obtain uniformly graphitized mesoporous carbon xerogels. The obtained carbon samples were characterized by means of SEM, TEM, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, N2 physisorption and thermogravimetric analysis. © Indian Academy of Sciences.113141sciescopu

Study of the optical limiting properties of carbon-encapsulated magnetic nanoparticles

10.1016/j.cplett.2007.06.125Chemical Physics Letters4441-3113-117CHPL