One-pot preparation of iron/alumina catalyst for the efficient growth of vertically-aligned carbon nanotube forests

The catalytic growth of vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes (VA-CNTs) forest usually requires thin catalyst films deposited by multi-step and costly physical vapor deposition techniques. Here, we demonstrate that an efficient catalyst and its supporting layer for VACNT growth can be prepared by usin...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Roussey, Arthur, Venier, Nicolas, Fneich, Hussein, Giardella, Lucas, Pinaud, Thomas, Tahir, Saïd, Peláez-Fernández, Mario, Arenal, Raúl, Mehdi, Ahmad, Jourdain, Vincent
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión enviada para evaluación y publicación
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/202341
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/202341
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Nanotubes
Vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes
Catalytic growth
Water-assisted growth
Descripción
Sumario:The catalytic growth of vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes (VA-CNTs) forest usually requires thin catalyst films deposited by multi-step and costly physical vapor deposition techniques. Here, we demonstrate that an efficient catalyst and its supporting layer for VACNT growth can be prepared by using a simple solution of Fe(NO3)3 and Al(NO3)3 deposited on silica in a single step. This process being much simpler and cheaper than existing preparation methods, it can easily be transferred to industry for the low-cost, thin and large-area coating of catalyst for VA-CNT growth. Our study shows that aluminum hydroxides preferentially react with the SiO2 surface while iron hydroxides tend to form oxide or hydroxide nanoparticles, thus allowing preparation of an aluminum-based buffer layer with iron-based nanoparticles at its surface. Optimization of the Fe/Al ratio and salt concentrations yielded catalysts with performances similar to standard Fe/Al2O3 catalysts prepared by physical vapor deposition.