Basheer Hameeda Jagalur, Baba Kamal, Bahlawane Naoufal
Material Research and Technology (MRT) Department, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), 41, rue du Brill, L-4422 Belvaux, Luxembourg.
ACS Omega. 2019 Jun 17;4(6):10405-10410. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.9b00616. eCollection 2019 Jun 30.
The ability to control the growth of carbon nanotube (CNT) coatings with adjusted packing density is essential for the design of functional devices with an emphasized interaction with the surrounding medium. This challenge is addressed in the present study using an innovative single-pot chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process based on the thermal conversion of ethanol to CNTs. Benefitting from the relatively safe and easily bio-derived carbon source is enabled using a cobalt catalyst and a magnesium oxide promoter. The resulting innovative direct-liquid injection CVD opens up new opportunities for low-temperature CNT deposition. The simultaneous formation of a cobalt catalyst along the process results in a sustainable CNT growth that is substantially emphasized with the deposition time. Furthermore, the formation of these catalyst nanoparticles in the porous structure nucleates new CNTs and results in a substantial film densification. Relative to densely packed CNTs that feature a density exceeding 1000 mg/cm, the investigated process enables an adjusted density from 0.1 to 20 mg/cm with no significant impact on the quality of the obtained multiwalled CNTs. This unprecedented control over the packing density of the CNT film paves the way toward the development of high-performance functional nanocomposite coatings.
能够控制具有调整堆积密度的碳纳米管（CNT）涂层的生长，对于设计与周围介质有强相互作用的功能器件至关重要。本研究通过一种基于乙醇热转化为碳纳米管的创新单锅化学气相沉积（CVD）工艺来应对这一挑战。使用钴催化剂和氧化镁促进剂能够受益于相对安全且易于生物衍生的碳源。由此产生的创新直接液体注入CVD为低温碳纳米管沉积开辟了新机会。在该过程中同时形成钴催化剂导致可持续的碳纳米管生长，且随着沉积时间显著增强。此外，这些催化剂纳米颗粒在多孔结构中的形成使新的碳纳米管成核，并导致膜显著致密化。相对于堆积密度超过1000 mg/cm的致密堆积碳纳米管，所研究的工艺能够将密度调整为0.1至20 mg/cm，而对所获得的多壁碳纳米管的质量没有显著影响。这种对碳纳米管膜堆积密度的前所未有的控制为高性能功能纳米复合涂层的开发铺平了道路。
