Direct synthesis of carbon nanotubes on fly ash particles to produce carbon nanotubes/fly ash composites

Abstract

Fly ash was used as catalytic support for carbon nanotubes (CNTs) growth by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) due to having ideal compositions (SiO₂, Al₂O₃, and Fe₂O₃). In this paper, CNTs were synthesized on Ni catalyst/fly ash substrate using CVD method. The influence of parameters (e.g., reaction temperature and gas flow rate) on the carbon yield and structure of the resulting CNTs was on the carbon yield and structure of the resulting CNTs was investigated by thermo-gravimetric analyses, Scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy analysis. The results indicated that the growth temperature controlling had a significant effect on the diameter of CNTs. And the proper acetylene and hydrogen flow rate would decrease in defect density and increase in yield of as-grown CNTs on fly ash. Finally, the amorphous carbon on the surface of as-grown CNTs were removed by heating in air. Experimental results showed that the hydrophobic of the annealed CNTs was weak due to introducing functional groups to the surface of CNTs.

Keywords

carbon nanotubes / fly ash / chemical vapor deposition / parameters / purification

References

[1] Kim H K, Nam I W, Lee H K. Enhanced effect of carbon nanotube on mechanical and electrical properties of cement composites by incorporation of silica fume. Composite Structures, 2014, 107: 60–69

[2] Zhang Q, Liu J, Sager R, Dai L, Baur J. Hierarchical composites of carbon nanotubes on carbon fiber: Influence of growth condition on fiber tensile properties. Composites Science and Technology, 2009, 69(5): 594–601

[3] Khalili S, Haghbin A. Investigation on design parameters of single-walled carbon nanotube reinforced nanocomposites under impact loads. Composite Structures, 2013, 98: 253–260

[4] Yang Z, Xia A Y, Mokaya R. Enhanced hydrogen storage capacity of high surface area zeolite-like carbon materials. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2007, 129(6): 1673–1679

[5] Hagen M, Dörfler S, Althues H, Tübke J, Hoffmann M J, Kaskel S, Pinkwart K. Lithium-sulphur batteries—Binder free carbon nanotubes electrode examined with various electrolytes. Journal of Power Sources, 2012, 213: 239–248

[6] Lu C, Chung Y L, Chang K F. Adsorption of trihalomethanes from water with carbon nanotubes. Water Research, 2005, 39(6): 1183–1189

[7] Schnorr J M, Swager T M. Emerging applications of carbon nanotubes. Chemistry of Materials, 2011, 23(3): 646–657

[8] Chaipanich A, Nochaiya T, Wongkeo W, Torkittikul P. Compressive strength and microstructure of carbon nanotubes-fly ash cement composites. Materials Science and Engineering A-Structural Materials Properties Microstructure and Processing, 2010, 527(4–5): 1063–1067

[9] Sun S, Yu X, Han B, Ou J. In situ growth of carbon nanotubes/carbon nanofibers on cement/mineral admixture particles: A review. Construction & Building Materials, 2013, 49: 835–840

[10] Raki L, Beaudoin J, Alizadeh R, Makar J, Sato T. Cement and concrete nanoscience and nanotechnology. Materials (Basel), 2010, 3(2): 918–942

[11] Nasibulin A G, Shandakov S D, Nasibulina L I, Cwirzen A, Mudimela P R, Habermehl-Cwirzen K, Grishin D A, Gavrilov Y V, Malm J E M, Tapper U, Tian Y, Penttala V, Karppinen M J, Kauppinen E I. A novel cement-based hybrid material. New Journal of Physics, 2009, 11(2): 023013

[12] Mudimela P R, Nasibulina L I, Nasibulin A G, Cwirzen A, Valkeapaa M, Habermehl-Cwirzen K, Malm J E M, Karppinen M J, Penttala V, Koltsova T S, Tolochko O V, Kauppinen E I. Synthesis of carbon nanotubes and nanofibers on silica and cement matrix materials. Journal of Nanomaterials, 2009, 2009: 1–4

[13] Ghaharpour F, Bahari A, Abbasi M, Ashkarran A A. Parametric investigation of CNT deposition on cement by CVD process. Construction & Building Materials, 2016, 113: 523–535

[14] Ludvig P, Calixto J M, Ladeira L O, Gaspar I C P. Using converter dust to produce low cost cementitious composites by in situ carbon nanotube and nanofiber synthesis. Materials (Basel), 2011, 4(3): 575–584

[15] Dunens O M, Mackenzie K J, Harris A T. Synthesis of multiwalled carbon nanotubes on fly ash derived catalysts. Environmental Science & Technology, 2016, 113: 523–535

[16] He C, Zhao N, Shi C, Liu E, Li J. Fabrication of nanocarbon composites using in situ chemical vapor deposition and their applications. Advanced Materials, 2015, 27(36): 5422–5431

[17] Ratkovic S, Peica N, Thomsen C, Bukur D B, Boskovic G. Thermal stability evolution of carbon nanotubes caused by liquid oxidation. Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, 2014, 115(2): 1477–1486

[18] Metaxa Z S, Konsta-Gdoutos M S, Shah S P. Carbon nanofiber cementitious composites: Effect of debulking procedure on dispersion and reinforcing efficiency. Cement and Concrete Composites, 2013, 36: 25–32

[19] Kashi M B, Aghababazadeh R, Arabi H, Mirhabibi A. Synthesis of high-quality single- and double-walled carbon nanotubes on Fe/MgO catalysts. Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology, 2016, 6: 381–389

[20] Allaedini G, Tasirin S M, Aminayi P. Synthesis of CNTs via chemical vapor deposition of carbon dioxide as a carbon source in the presence of NiMgO. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2015, 647: 809–814

[21] Ma Y, Dichiara A B, He D, Zimmer L, Bai J. Control of product nature and morphology by adjusting the hydrogen content in a continuous chemical vapor deposition process for carbon nanotube synthesis. Carbon, 2016, 107: 171–179

[22] Allaedini G, Tasirin S M, Aminayi P. Yield optimization of nanocarbons prepared via chemical vapor decomposition of carbon dioxide using response surface methodology. Diamond and Related Materials, 2016, 66: 196–205

[23] Lehman J H, Terrones M, Mansfield E, Hurst K E, Meunier V. Evaluating the characteristics of multiwall carbon nanotubes. Carbon, 2011, 49(8): 2581–2602

[24] Awadallah A E, Aboul-Enein A A, Aboul-Gheit A K. Effect of progressive Co loading on commercial Co-Mo/Al₂O₃ catalyst for natural gas decomposition to CO_x-free hydrogen production and carbon nanotubes. Energy Conversion and Management, 2014, 77: 143–151

[25] Zhang X, Zhang Q, Zheng J. Effect and mechanism of iron oxide modified carbon nanotubes on thermal oxidative stability of silicone rubber. Composites Science and Technology, 2014, 99: 1–7

[26] Munir K S, Qian M, Li Y, Oldfield D T, Kingshott P, Zhu D M, Wen C. Quantitative analyses of MWCNT-Ti powder mixtures using raman spectroscopy: The influence of milling parameters on nanostructural evolution. Advanced Engineering Materials, 2015, 17(11): 1660–1669

[27] Hintsho N, Shaikjee A, Masenda H, Naidoo D, Billing D, Franklyn P, Durbach S. Direct synthesis of carbon nanofibers from South African coal fly ash. Nanoscale Research Letters, 2014, 9(1): 387–398

[28] Golshadi M, Maita J, Lanza D, Zeiger M, Presser V, Schrlau M G. Effects of synthesis parameters on carbon nanotubes manufactured by template-based chemical vapor deposition. Carbon, 2014, 80: 28–39

[29] Yardimci A I, Yılmaz S, Selamet Y. The effects of catalyst pretreatment, growth atmosphere and temperature on carbon nanotube synthesis using Co-Mo/MgO catalyst. Diamond and Related Materials, 2015, 60: 81–86

[30] Cao A, Liu G, Wang L, Liu J, Yue Y, Zhang L, Liu Y. Growing layered double hydroxides on CNTs and their catalytic performance for higher alcohol synthesis from syngas. Journal of Materials Science, 2016, 51(11): 5216–5231

[31] Dementev N, Osswald S, Gogotsi Y, Borguet E. Purification of carbon nanotubes by dynamic oxidation in air. Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2009, 19(42): 7904–7908

[32] 32.Naseh M V, Khodadadi A A, Mortazavi Y, Pourfayaz F, Alizadeh O, Maghrebi M. Fast and clean functionalization of carbon nanotubes by dielectric barrier discharge plasma in air compared to acid treatment. Carbon, 2010, 48(5): 1369–1379

[33] Kuzmenko V, Naboka O, Haque M, Staaf H, Göransson G, Gatenholm P, Enoksson P. Sustainable carbon nanofibers/nanotubes composites from cellulose as electrodes for supercapacitors. Energy, 2015, 90: 1490–1496

[34] Im Y O, Lee S H, Kim T, Park J, Lee J, Lee K H. Utilization of carboxylic functional groups generated during purification of carbon nanotube fiber for its strength improvement. Applied Surface Science, 2017, 392: 342–349

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51472090), and the Science and Technology Program of Guangzhou (No. 201607010047), and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (No. 2017A030313281).

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2019 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature