Synthesis of beaded and entwined carbon nanofibers in Ni:Al alloy catalyst.
This paper reports two new types of carbon nanofibers synthesis by thermal decomposition of n-hexane in presence of Ni-Al alloy in hydrogen atmosphere at 1100 degrees C. One type is "beaded fibers" in which spherical carbon beads (approximately 1 microm) are regularly grown from outer surface of fibers (approximately 0.3 microm). The other new microstructure is "entwined fibers" in which multiple nanofibers of diameter approximately 100 nm grow self-entwined like a braid of hair. Both bead-fiber bonding (in beaded fibers) and fiber-fiber interaction (in entwined fibers) are strong to be detached/unfolded by 30-min ultrasonication.
Pradhan
Debabrata
D
Department of Chemistry and Sophisticated Analytical Instruments Facility, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400 076, India.
Sharon
Maheshwar
M
Kumar
Mukul
M
Ando
Yoshinori
Y
D000497:Alloys; D000535:Aluminum; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D006358:Hot Temperature; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D036103:Nanotechnology; D009532:Nickel; D033362:Powder Diffraction
D000497:Alloys; D002244:Carbon; D009532:Nickel; D000535:Aluminum