Synthesis, Technology and Applications of Carbon Nanomaterials

Suraya Abdul Rashid, Raja Nor Izawati Raja Othman, Mohd Zobir Hussein

• Publisher: Elsevier
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN:
  9780128157572
• eBook ISBN:
  9780128162590
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Materials Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Synthesis, Technology and Applications of Carbon Nanomaterials explores the chemical properties of different classes of carbon nanomaterials and their major applications. As carbon nanomaterials are used for a variety of applications due to their versatile properties and characteristics, this book discusses recent advances in synthesis methods, characterization, and applications of 0D -3D dimensional carbon nanomaterials. It is an essential resource for readers focusing on carbon nanomaterials research. - Explores the chemical properties of different classes of carbon nanomaterials and their major applications - Discusses recent advances in synthesis methods, characterization, and applications of 0D -3D dimensional carbon nanomaterials

Chapter 1

Synthesis of Carbon Nanomaterials Using Catalytic Chemical Vapor Deposition Technique

Ferial Ghaemi⁎; May Ali^†; Robiah Yunus^†,‡; Raja Nor Othman^{§,¶ ⁎} Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP), Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
^† Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
^‡ Institute of Advanced Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
^§ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
^¶ Centre for Defence Research and Technology, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Abstract

This chapter presents catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique, which has been applied to grow carbon nanomaterials including carbon nanotube (CNT), carbon nanofiber (CNF), and graphene. Although there are many CVD variants available in the literature, this chapter focuses on atmospheric thermal CVD. CNT, CNF, and graphene can be synthesized using CVD by manipulating various growth parameters. The roles of carbon precursors, catalysts, and substrates in influencing the growth behavior are discussed in detail. The catalyst-substrate combination was also found to influence the type and morphology of the synthesized carbon nanomaterials. The growth mechanism on multilayer graphene is also reviewed on various catalyst-substrate combinations.

Keywords

Chemical vapor deposition; Catalyst; Substrate; Carbon nanotube; Carbon nanofiber; Graphene

Acknowledgments

This research is partially supported by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MOHE) under LRGS/TD/2011/UPM/PG/01, UPM-LL-07-FGRS0211-2010, Modal Insan, and Putra IPB grants.

1.1 Carbon Nanomaterials and Their Properties

Carbon is one of the three basic elements (C, H, and O) that form many kinds of organisms with other elements to constitute life on earth. Among the pure elements in the periodic table, carbon can assume different structures such as one-dimensional carbon nanotube (CNT), two-dimensional graphene, three-dimensional diamond, and even zero-dimensional fullerenes. With nanometer-scale dimensions, the properties of carbon nanomaterials are strongly dependent on their atomic structures and interactions with other materials. The tubular morphology of carbon includes carbon fibers, whiskers, CNT, and carbon nanofiber (CNF). Other forms of carbon are graphene, carbon blacks, carbon dots, and carbon nanoparticles, just to name a few. Fig. 1.1 shows various structures of carbon nanomaterials with their nomenclature [1], with their extraordinary properties, and with their potential applications that are discussed extensively in this book.

Fig. 1.1 Various structures of carbon nanomaterials with their nomenclature. (Reproduced with permission from Q.-L. Yan, et al., Highly energetic compositions based on functionalized carbon nanomaterials, Nanoscale 8 (9) (2016) 4799–4851.)

It was the Kroto-Smalley work [2] that pioneered the field of nanostructured carbon science era and further stimulated the search of finding new carbon materials. In this experiment, graphite was laser vaporized, and a new structure was accidentally found. Fullerenes or C₆₀, a dominant structure of the product, was detected by mass spectrometry. They soon realized that it was a closed cluster containing precisely 60 carbon atoms, which would have a structure of unique stability and symmetry. This discovery led to the Nobel Prize Award for Chemistry in 1996. This success further inspires research of finding other novel carbon nanomaterials.

Although research in the area of CNT became intensified in the 1990s, the first evidence of the existence of CNT was actually reported back in 1952 by Radunshkevich and Lukyanovich in the Journal of Physical Chemistry ([3] and references therein). However, due to the cold war and the fact that this journal was published in Russian language, access to this important discovery remained unknown only until the 21st century [3]. Approximately two decades later, Endo et al. [4] also published transmission electron microscope (TEM) images of CNT who described the structure as “…hollow tubes…” with “…turbostratic stacks of carbon layers, parallel to the fibre axis, and arranged in concentric sheets….” However, this finding failed to capture the interest of carbon research community at that time who was more involved in the carbon-fiber-related work [5]. Nevertheless, it was Iijima's work that caused a worldwide interest in this material who described this carbon structure that consisted of several coaxial tubes (from two to seven concentric graphene cylinders) and a hollow core, with outer diameter ranged from 5.5 nm (two graphene cylinders) to 6.5 nm (seven graphene cylinders) [6]. This tubular structure is capped by a half fullerene at each end. According to Monthioux and Kuznetsov [3], Iijima's paper [6] created such a tremendous impact as it was published in a high-impact journal accessible by various researchers involved from basic research to fundamental physicists and also the fact that the paper emerged after the discovery of fullerenes. Since then, the progress of CNT has accelerated with the publication on single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) production using transition-metal catalyst by Bethune [7] and Iijima [8]. Fig. 1.2 shows the TEM images published by these three reports. It becomes clear that only the images published from Iijima (Fig. 1.2C) clearly show the graphene fringes and also the number of walls.

Fig. 1.2 TEM images of CNT published by (A) Radunshkevich and Lukyanovich in 1952, (B) Endo et al. in 1976 [4], and (C) Iijima in 1991 [6]. ((A and B) Reproduced with permission from N. Grobert, Car...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Contributors
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1: Synthesis of Carbon Nanomaterials Using Catalytic Chemical Vapor Deposition Technique
• Chapter 2: Carbon Nanotube Hybrids and Their Polymer Nanocomposites
• Chapter 3: Synthesis of Carbon Nanotube-Cotton Superfiber Materials
• Chapter 4: Recent Development on the Synthesis Techniques and Properties of Graphene Derivatives
• Chapter 5: Natural Biomass as Carbon Sources for the Synthesis of Photoluminescent Carbon Dots
• Chapter 6: Carbon Nanotubes as Biological Transporters and Tissue-Engineering Scaffolds
• Chapter 7: Functionalization of Graphene for Nanodelivery of Drugs
• Chapter 8: Functionalization of Graphene Oxide via Gamma-Ray Irradiation for Hydrophobic Materials
• Chapter 9: Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene for Sensor Technology
• Chapter 10: Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene Oxide Applications in Optochemical Sensors
• Chapter 11: Applications of Nanotechnology and Carbon Nanoparticles in Agriculture
• Chapter 12: Activated Carbon for Shape-Stabilized Phase Change Material
• Chapter 13: Activated Carbon for Supercapacitors
• Index