Removal of Metallic and Organic Contaminants from Aqueous Streams by Novel Filtration Methods
Graphite nanofibers are a newly developed type of material that can be synthesized by the decomposition of selected hydrocarbons over selected metal particle surfaces 1. The structural characteristics of the solid can be manipulated by a careful selection of parameters including the catalyst, the reaction conditions and the temperature. Both the size and the morphology of the metal particle have been found to play an important role on the cross-sectional area as well as the orientation of the graphene sheets. It is therefore possible to produce materials where the platelets are aligned either parallel, perpendicular or at an angle with respect to the fiber axis 2. The consequence of the interplay between particle and morphology is that a variety of conformations are possible including tubular, ribbon-like, or structures where only edges of the basal plane are exposed. Graphite nanofibers are usually produced in bulk quantities using unsupported metal powders, having an average particle size of {approx}1 mm. The cross sectional area of the resulting fibers exhibit a large range usually between 5 to 100 nm, as a result of uneven fragmentation of the original particles during the reaction 3. In our current program we have attempted to generate nanofibers of controlled dimensions in order to produce material having both a high surface area and a high electrical conductivity that results from a long range crystallographic order.
- Research Organization:
- Northeastern University (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG07-96ER14688
- OSTI ID:
- 825753
- Report Number(s):
- EMSP-54571-1999; R&D Project: EMSP 54571; TRN: US200423%%401
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 Jun 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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