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Continuous synthesis of multiwalled carbon nanotubes from xylene using the swirled floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition technique

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2011

Clarence S. Yah ,
Sunny E. Iyuke ,
Geoffrey S. Simate ,
Emmanuel I. Unuabonah ,
Graham Bathgate ,
George Matthews  and
John D. Cluett
Clarence S. Yah*
Affiliation:
Biochemistry & Toxicology Section, National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH), Johannesburg, South Africa
Sunny E. Iyuke
Affiliation:
School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Wits 2050, South Africa
Geoffrey S. Simate
Affiliation:
School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Wits 2050, South Africa
Emmanuel I. Unuabonah
Affiliation:
College of Natural Sciences, Department of Chemical Sciences, Redeemer’s University, Redemption City, Mowe, Nigeria
Graham Bathgate
Affiliation:
School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Wits 2050, South Africa
George Matthews
Affiliation:
School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Wits 2050, South Africa
John D. Cluett
Affiliation:
School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Wits 2050, South Africa
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: Clarence.Yah@nioh.nhls.ac.za
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Abstract

This work reports the continuous and large-scale production of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) from xylene/ferrocene in a swirled floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition reactor using argon as the carrier gas. The concentration of ferrocene used was 0.01 g/mL of xylene. In every run, 50-mL xylene gas was used together with xylene/ferrocene mixture injected into the reactor by means of a burette. The MWCNTs produced were characterized using the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectra. TEM analysis showed a poor production rate at 850 °C and a good production in the range of 900–1000 °C with optimal production rate at 950 °C. Furthermore, xylene/ferrocene mixture produced more MWCNTs at 950 °C with H:Ar (1:7) as the carrier gas. The diameters of the MWCNTs in the temperatures studied ranged from 15 to 95 nm with wall thicknesses between 0.5 and 0.8 nm.

Keywords

Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) (deposition)NanostructureTransmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 26 , Issue 5 , 14 March 2011 , pp. 640 - 644
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2011

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