Gangoli Varun Shenoy, Mahy Thomas, Yick Tim, Niu Yubiao, Palmer Richard E, Orbaek White Alvin
Energy Safety Research Institute, Swansea University Bay Campus, Swansea, SA1 8EN UK.
Department of Chemical Engineering, Swansea University Bay Campus, Swansea, SA1 8EN UK.
Carbon Lett (Korean Carbon Soc). 2022;32(7):1681-1688. doi: 10.1007/s42823-022-00398-8. Epub 2022 Sep 30.
We report the use of face mask materials as a carbon precursor for the synthesis of multi- and single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in an open-loop chemical recycling process. Novel surgical mask precursors were suspended in toluene and injected into a chemical vapor deposition reactor previously optimized for CNT production using liquid injection. The CNTs were collected and characterized using resonant Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) before being turned into fibrils that were tested for electrical conductance. Once confirmed and repeated for statistical accuracy, a CNT-based Ethernet cable was manufactured and tested using iPerf3 for uplink and downlink speeds exceeding broadband standards worldwide. Radial breathing modes from Raman spectroscopy indicate single walled CNTs (SWCNTs) with diameters ranging from 0.8 to 1.55 nm and this matches well with TEM observations of SWCNTs with 1.5 nm diameter. This work pushes the horizon of feedstocks useful for CNT and SWCNT production in particular; this work demonstrates upcycling of materials fated for disposal into materials with positive net value and plenty of real-world applications.
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42823-022-00398-8.
我们报道了在开环化学回收过程中，使用口罩材料作为碳前驱体来合成多壁和单壁碳纳米管（CNT）。将新型手术口罩前驱体悬浮在甲苯中，注入到先前已针对使用液体注入法生产碳纳米管进行优化的化学气相沉积反应器中。收集碳纳米管并使用共振拉曼光谱、透射电子显微镜（TEM）和扫描电子显微镜（SEM）进行表征，然后将其制成原纤维并测试其电导率。一旦得到确认并为统计准确性进行重复实验后，制造了基于碳纳米管的以太网电缆，并使用iPerf3测试其上行和下行速度，其速度超过了全球宽带标准。拉曼光谱的径向呼吸模式表明单壁碳纳米管（SWCNT）的直径范围为0.8至1.55纳米，这与直径为1.5纳米的单壁碳纳米管的透射电子显微镜观察结果非常吻合。这项工作尤其拓展了可用于生产碳纳米管和单壁碳纳米管的原料范围；这项工作展示了将注定要被丢弃的材料升级循环为具有正净值且有大量实际应用的材料。
在线版本包含可在10.1007/s42823-022-00398-8获取的补充材料。
