Carbon Nanotubes Grown Using Solid Polymer Chemical Vapor Deposition in a Fluidized Bed Reactor with Iron(III) Nitrate, Iron(III) Chloride and Nickel(II) Chloride Catalysts
Chuhsuan Wang,
Jingshiun Chang,
Teodoro A. Amatosa,
Yizhen Guo,
Fujen Lin,
Yeewen Yen
Affiliations
Chuhsuan Wang
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan
Jingshiun Chang
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan
Teodoro A. Amatosa
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan
Yizhen Guo
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan
Fujen Lin
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan
Yeewen Yen
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan
In this study, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MW-CNT) were successfully synthesized using a chemical vapor deposition-fluidized bed (CVD-FB), with 10% hydrogen and 90% argon by volume, and a reaction temperature between 750 and 850 °C in a specially designed three-stage reactor. A solid state of polyethylene (PE) was used as a carbon source and iron(III) nitrate, iron(III) chloride, and nickel(II) chloride were used as catalysts. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectrum analysis were used to analyze and examine the morphology and characteristics of the CNTs. A thermogravimetric analyzer was used to determine the purification temperature for the CNTs. Experimental results showed that the synthesis with iron-based catalysts produced more carbon filaments. Nickel(II) chloride catalysis resulted in the synthesis of symmetrical MW-CNTs with diameters between 30 and 40 nanometers. This catalyst produced the best graphitization level (ID/IG) with a value of 0.89. Excessively large particle size catalysts do not cluster carbon effectively enough to grow CNTs and this is the main reason for the appearance of carbon filaments.
