High yield synthesis of carbon nanofibers in an environmental friendly route

Abstract

An environmental friendly route for the high yield synthesis of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) has been developed. CNFs have been synthesized using nickel formate as catalyst precursor at 680°C using chemical vapor deposition method. Upon pyrolysis this catalyst precursor yields metal catalyst nanoparticles directly. The sodium chloride and potassium chloride was used as catalyst support, it was chosen because of its non-toxic and water soluble nature. The problems such as detrimental effect, environment and even cost has been avoided by using water soluble supports. The structure of the products was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction method. The purity of as grown products and purified products was determined by thermal analysis. Here, we report the 7,800 and 7,200 wt% yield of CNFs synthesized over NaCl and KCl support. This synthetic route can be used for the large scale synthesis in industries. © 2011, The Author(s).