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An investigation of carbon nanotubes obtained from the decomposition of methane over reduced $Mg_{1-x}M_xAl_2O_4$ spinel catalysts

Govindaraj, A and Flahaut, E and Laurent, Ch and Peigney, A and Rousset, A and Rao, CNR (1999) An investigation of carbon nanotubes obtained from the decomposition of methane over reduced $Mg_{1-x}M_xAl_2O_4$ spinel catalysts. In: Journal of Materials Research, 14 (6). pp. 2567-2576.

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Abstract

Carbon nanotubes produced by the treatment of $Mg_{1-x}M_xAl_2O_4$ (M = Fe, Co, or Ni; x =­ 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, or 0.4) spinels with an $H_{2}CH_{4}$ mixture at 1070 degree C have been investigated systematically. The grains of the oxide-metal composite particles are uniformly covered by a weblike network of carbon nanotube bundles, several tens of micrometers long, made up of single-wall nanotubes with a diameter close to 4 nm. Only the smallest metal particles (< 5 nm) are involved in the formation of the nanotubes. A macroscopic characterization method involving surface area measurements and chemical analysis has been developed in order to compare the different nanotube specimens. An increase in the transition metal content of the catalyst yields more carbon nanotubes (up to a metal content of 10.0 wt% or x = 0.3), but causes a decrease in carbon quality. The best compromise is to use 6.7 wt% of metal (x =­ 0.2) in the catalyst. Co gives superior results with respect to both the quantity and quality of the nanotubes. In the case of Fe,the quality is notably hampered by the formation of $Fe_{3}C$ particles.

Item Type: Journal Article
Publication: Journal of Materials Research
Publisher: Materials Research Society
Additional Information: The copyright belongs to Materials Research Society.
Keywords: carbon nanotube;methane;spinel catalysts;metal particles
Department/Centre: Division of Chemical Sciences
Date Deposited: 22 Feb 2005
Last Modified: 19 Sep 2010 04:15
URI: http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/1525

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