title: Advanced materials from natural materials: synthesis of aligned carbon nanotubes on wollastonites.
abstract: The growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on natural materials is a low-cost, environmentally benign, and materials-saving method for the large-scale production of CNTs. Directly building 3D CNT architectures on natural materials is a key issue for obtaining advanced materials with high added value. We report the fabrication of aligned CNT arrays on fibrous natural wollastonite. Strongly dispersed iron particles with small sizes were produced on a planar surface of soaked fibrous wollastonite by a reduction process. These particles then catalyzed the decomposition of ethylene, leading to the synchronous growth of CNTs to form leaf- and brush-like wollastonite/CNT hybrids. The as-obtained hybrids could be further transformed into porous SiO(2)/CNT hybrids by reaction with hydrochloric acid. Further treatment with hydrofluoric acid resulted in aligned CNT arrays, with purities as high as 98.7 %. The presented work is very promising for the fabrication of advanced materials with unique structures and properties that can be used as fillers, catalyst supports, or energy-absorbing materials.
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Reaction Engineering and Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Meng-Qiang
authors.initials: MQ
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jia-Qi
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Jing-Qi
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wei
mesh_terms: D001688:Biological Products / Q000737:chemistry*; D017610:Calcium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D017640:Silicates / Q000737:chemistry*; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry; D014835:Volatilization
chemical_list: D001688:Biological Products; D017610:Calcium Compounds; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D017640:Silicates; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; C031293:calcium silicate