The synergistic effect in the Fe-Co bimetallic catalyst system for the growth of carbon nanotube forests

Journal Article · Wed Jan 28 00:00:00 EST 2015 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4906846· OSTI ID:22413002

Hardeman, D.; Cartwright, R.; D'Arsié, L.; Robertson, J. ^[1]; Bhardwaj, S.; Cepek, C. ^[2]; Oakes, D.; Clark, J. ^[3]; Ducati, C. ^[4]

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1. Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0FA (United Kingdom)
2. Istituto Officina dei Materiali-CNR, Laboratorio TASC, Trieste I-34149 (Italy)
3. Johnson Matthey Technology Centre, Sonning Common RG4 9NH (United Kingdom)
4. Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0FS (United Kingdom)

We report the growth of multi-walled carbon nanotube forests employing an active-active bimetallic Fe-Co catalyst. Using this catalyst system, we observe a synergistic effect by which—in comparison to pure Fe or Co—the height of the forests increases significantly. The homogeneity in the as-grown nanotubes is also improved. By both energy dispersive spectroscopy and in-situ x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we show that the catalyst particles consist of Fe and Co, and this dramatically increases the growth rate of the tubes. Bimetallic catalysts are thus potentially useful for synthesising nanotube forests more efficiently.

• OSTI ID: 22413002
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 117, Issue 4; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY
CARBON NANOTUBES
CATALYSTS
COBALT
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CRYSTAL GROWTH
IRON
PARTICLES
POTENTIALS
SYNTHESIS
X-RAY PHOTOELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY