The Effect of Alumina and Magnesia Supported Germanium Nanoparticles on the Growth of Carbon Nanotubes in the Chemical Vapor Deposition Method

The effect of alumina and magnesia supported germanium (Ge) nanoparticles on the synthesis of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) using the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method in atmospheric pressure was investigated. The TEM micrographs confirmed the formation of carbon nanotubes, and the field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) analysis suggested a tip-growth mechanism for the grown carbon nanotubes. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern indicated a graphitic nature of the carbon nanotubes. The obtained CNTs using Ge nanoparticles supported by MgO resulted in a higher degree of graphitization than the CNTs obtained using Ge nanoparticles supported by Al2O3. Raman spectroscopy analysis of the CNTs confirmed the presence of radial breathing modes (RBM), which verified the formation of CNTs. High frequency Raman analysis demonstrated that the degree of graphitization of the synthesized CNTs using magnesia supported Ge nanoparticles is higher than that of the alumina supported Ge nanoparticles with the values of (ID/IG) ratios equal to 0.45 and 0.73, respectively

Structural properties and optical characterization of flower-like Mg doped NiO

In this study, un-doped and Mg doped NiO nanoparticles have been synthesized through a simple sol-gel method. To investigate the effect of Mg-doping on the structure of NiO, the obtained nanoparticles were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Flower/star like morphology was clearly observed in the SEM micrographs. The BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) nitrogen absorption isotherm exhibits high specific surface area (∼37 m2 /g) for the Mg doped NiO nanoparticles. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) of the prepared Mg-NiO nanoparticles showed a face-centered cubic (f.c.c) structure, and the average particle size was estimated to be 32 nm using Scherrer’s formula. Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX) confirms that the NiO particles are successfully doped with Mg. Photoluminescence (PL) and UV-Vis optical absorption characteristics of the prepared nanoparticles have also been investigated in this study. The PL emission response showed a blue shift when NiO was doped with Mg, which is indicative of interstitial oxygen. The UV-Vis results demonstrate a band gap increase as NiO nanoparticles are doped with Mg

Non-Supported Nickel-Based Coral Sponge-Like Porous Magnetic Alloys for Catalytic Production of Syngas and Carbon Bio-Nanofilaments via a Biogas Decomposition Approach

Porous Ni, Ni-Co, Ni-Fe, and Ni-Cu magnetic alloys with a morphology similar to a giant barrel sponge were synthesized via a facile co-precipitation procedure and then by hydrogen reduction treatment. For the first time, the non-supported alloys with their unique morphology were employed in catalytic biogas decomposition (CBD) at a reaction temperature of 700 °C and 100 mL min−1 to produce syngas and carbon bio-nanofilaments, and the catalysts’ behavior, CH4 and CO2 conversion, and the carbon produced during the reaction were investigated. All of the equimolar alloy catalysts showed good activity and stability for the catalytic biogas decomposition. The highest sustainability factor (0.66) and carbon yield (424%) were accomplished with the Ni-Co alloy without any significant inactivation for six hours, while the highest carbon efficiency of 36.43 was obtained with the Ni-Co catalyst, which is considered relatively low in comparison with industry standards, indicating a low carbon production process efficiency, possibly due to the relatively high biogas flow rate. The higher activity of the Ni-Co alloy catalyst was associated with the synergistic impact between nickel and cobalt, allowing the catalyst to maintain a high stability throughout the reaction period. Moreover, highly uniform, interwoven carbon bio-nanofilaments with a parallel and fishbone structure were achieved