Peng Fei Ren

Synthesis of Carbon Nanofibers by Ethanol Catalytic Combustion Technique

In this paper, we report a simple growth of carbon nanofibers by means of the combustion of ethyl alcohol. In our experiment, copper plate was employed as substrate, iron nitrate and iron chloride as catalyst precursor and ethanol as carbon source. The as-grown carbon nanofibers were characterized by employing scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution field-emission transmission electron microscopy and Reinshaw optical confocal Raman spectroscopy. Our results suggested that it would tend to form relatively uniform nanofibers when the catalyst precursor was iron nitrate, however, to form some helical structure nanofibers when the catalyst precursor was iron chloride. The sample using iron chloride as the catalyst precursor has a higher graphitization degree than that using iron nitrate as the catalyst precursor.

Carbon Nanostructures by Using FeCl3 as Catalyst Precursor

Carbon nanotubes and carbon nanowires were synthesized by ethanol catalytic combustion (ECC) technique, using FeCl3 solution as a catalyst precursor. Applying the 0.01 mol/l, 0.1 mol/l and 1 mol/l FeCl3 as catalyst precursor solution to the copper plate, carbon nanotubes and carbon nanowires were synthesized. The effect of concentration on growth and structural changes of the as-grown nanomaterials are illustrated and discussed. This technique has advantages of low cost, large scale production and flexible reaction conditions, etc. This technique can be used to synthesize carbon nanotubes and nanowires on metal substrate directly. This technique also has potential applications for fabricating nano-electrical devices.

β-PbO Plate Films Deposited on Cathode by Electrochemical Deposition

In this paper, we developed a simple and effective method to fabricate lead oxide plate films by electrochemical deposition. The electrolyte was lead nitrate aqueous solution with or without Cl- ions. Stainless steel plate was employed as both cathode and substrate, and a graphite plate as anode. We found the optimal current density of synthesizing lead oxide plate films is 10-25mA/cm2 when there were no Cl- ions in the electrolyte. If equal Cl- ions were added in lead nitrate aqueous solution, the optimal current density of synthesizing lead oxide plate films is less than 10mA/cm2. The as-prepared lead oxide plate films have orthorhombic crystals structure.

Effects of Concentration of Catalyst Precursors on Carbon Nanostructures

It is very important to study the effects of various factors on synthesis of carbon nanomaterials for controlled synthesis, which plays a significant role in realizing desired nanostructures or nanodevices for applications. In this report, we employed iron nitrate solution with different concentration, such as 1 mol/l, 0.1 mol/l, 0.01 mol/l, and saturated iron nitrate solution as catalyst precursor solution and studied the effects of concentration of catalyst precursor solution on carbon nanostructures that were synthesized by ethanol catalytic combustion (ECC) process. We have characterized the as-grown carbon nanostructures by employing scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for deep understanding.

Catalytic combustion synthesis of carbon nanofibers

The catalytic combustion technique was used to synthesize carbon nanotubes and carbon nanofibers. In this paper, we report that carbon nanofibers were synthesized by ethanol catalytic combustion technique. The as-grown products were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy. The results showed that the products have a mass of carbon nanofibers. However, morphology and microstructure of carbon nanofibers are affected by synthesis conditions, such as stability of flames and sampling time, sampling temperature etc. Different Influence factors were depicted in detail. Ethanol catalytic combustion technique offer a simple method to synthesize carbon nanotubes and carbon nanofibers, it also has some advantages, such as flexible synthesis conditions, simple setup, and environment-friendly.

Raman Spectroscopic Characterization of Carbon Nanofibers Obtained by Using Metal Chloride as Catalyst Precursor

Carbon nanofibers have been obtained by the interaction of ethanol with metal chloride over copper plate. Different metal chloride was used as the catalyst precursor. The products were characterized by the Raman spectroscopy for the degree of graphitization. The relative intensities and the amount of amorphous carbon were estimated. The results indicate that the catalyst precursor has effects on the degree of graphitization of carbon nanofibers.

The Effects of Size of Catalysts on the Morphology of Carbon Fibers

A simple method was reported for synthesis of carbon nanofibers. Ethanol burner was employed as the setup. Different morphological carbon nanofibers were synthesized by the decomposition of ethanol. As-grown carbon nanofibers were characterized. The results indicate that depending on the size of catalyst, carbon deposits with different morphologies were produced.

Y-Shaped Carbon Nanowires Obtained from Ethanol Flames and their Growth Mechanism

Y-shaped carbon nanowires as a multi-branched carbon nanostructure have potential applications in electrical nano-devices. In this paper, we report the synthesis of Y-shaped carbon nanowires obtained from ethanol flames. These Y-shaped carbon nanowires have different morphologies from one to another. It is interesting that there are two Y-junctions on individual carbon nanowires. According to our experimental results, the growth mechanism of Y-shaped carbon nanowires has been discussed and a possible growth model of these Y-shaped carbon nanowires has been proposed.

Carbon Nanotubes Obtained by ECC Technique with Cobalt Salt as Catalyst Precursor

In this paper we report the preparation of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by ethanol catalytic combustion (ECC) technique. We employed cobalt salt as catalyst precursors, copper plate as substrate and ethanol as carbon source. In order to have a better understanding of the growth mechanisms, we employed cobalt chloride, cobalt nitrite and cobalt sulfate as catalyst precursor to study the influence of catalysts on CNTs growth respectively. Entangled and nonseparated CNTs were aggregated together when the catalyst precursor was cobalt chloride, while straight and uniform CNTs were obtained when the catalyst precursor was cobalt sulfate. In the case of using cobalt nitrite as catalyst precursor, the CNTs tend to form helical and disordered structure. We have examined the morphology and microstructure of the obtained CNTs and discussed the growth mechanism.

Raman Spectroscopic Characterization for Carbon Nanofibers Produced by Using Ferric Chloride of Different Concentration as Catalyst Precursor

Catalytic grown carbon nanofibers have been obtained from decomposition of ethanol over copper plate. Ferric chloride of different concentration was employed as the catalyst precursor. Scanning electron microscopy has shown that different morphologies of carbon nanofibers can be obtained by using different concentration of catalyst precursor solution. The results from the Raman spectroscopic characterization have also demonstrated that the graphitization of carbon nanofibers can be tailored by control of the concentration of catalyst precursor solution. When the information from these characterization are combined with that of the associated morphologies of the carbon nanofibers, it is possible to synthesize perfect carbon nanofibers.