title: Fabrication and characterization of a zirconia/multi-walled carbon nanotube mesoporous composite.
abstract: A zirconia/multi-walled carbon nanotube (ZrO2/MWCNT) mesoporous composite was fabricated via a simple method using a hydrothermal process with the aid of the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N2 adsorption-desorption, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques were used to characterize the as-made samples. The cubic ZrO2 nanocrystallites were observed to overlay the surface of MWCNTs, which resulted in the formation of a novel mesoporous-nanotube composite. On the basis of a TEM analysis of the products from controlled experiment, the role of the acid-treated MWCNTs and CTAB was proposed to explain the formation of the mesoporous-nanotube structure. The as-made composite possessed novel properties, such as a high surface area (312 m(2)·g(-1)) and a bimodal mesoporous structure (3.18 nm and 12.4 nm). It was concluded that this composite has important application value due to its one-dimensional hollow structure, excellent electric conductivity and large surface area.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Fiber Materials and Modern Textile, the Growing Base for State Key Laboratory, College of Chemical and Environment Engineering, Qingdao University, Shandong 266071, PR China. wang_zonghua@yahoo.com.cn
authors.forename: Zonghua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jianfei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Yanzhi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Caiyu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Guoyu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Feifei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Fuqiang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Yanhui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Linhua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D036103:Nanotechnology; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry; D010316:Particle Size; D016062:Porosity; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013696:Temperature; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction; D015040:Zirconium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D015040:Zirconium; D009584:Nitrogen; C028541:zirconium oxide
keywords: CTAB; Composite; MWCNTs; Mesoporous–nanotube; ZrO(2)