Analysis of Carbon Nanotubes Produced by Pyrolysis of Composite Film of Poly (Vinyl Alcohol) and Modified Fly Ash

Dilip C D Nath,Veena Sahajwalla

doi:10.4236/msa.2012.32016

Abstract

We determined the catalytic function of chemically modified fly ash (MFA) for the growth of carbon nanotube (CNT) ropes with ~54% yield by the pyrolysis of the composite film of poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) at 500°C for 10 min under 2 L/min flow of nitrogen. Fly ash was treated with 2M sodium hydroxide to have MFA and used with PVA to fabricate the composite film by aqua casting. CNT was analyzed using SEM, TEM, XPS and Raman spectroscopy. The growths of CNT on MFA surfaces were visualized with different geometric self-assembly, e.g., bundles of CNT in ropes, twisted ropes, Y-branch ropes and staked-cone sheet. Thus, the mixtures of CNT ropes and MFA are a potential filler material for fabricating composites with polymer and metal.

Highlights

Self-assembled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have the potential for a wide range of applications, among them devices for energy storage and energy conversion, composites with metal and polymer, electrodes, and catalyst supports [1]
We determined the catalytic function of chemically modified fly ash (MFA) for the growth of carbon nanotube (CNT) ropes with ~54% yield by the pyrolysis of the composite film of poly (PVA) at 500 ̊C for 10 min under 2 L/min flow of nitrogen
104 Analysis of Carbon Nanotubes Produced by Pyrolysis of Composite Film of Poly (Vinyl Alcohol) and Modified Fly Ash are in agriculture and soil management, the production of polymer composites [10] cement and concrete [12], metal composites [13] as catalytic support for hydrogen production, steam methane reforming [9] and iron-nitrate-impregnated support for the synthesis of multi-walled CNTs (MWCNTs) [11]

Summary

Introduction

Self-assembled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have the potential for a wide range of applications, among them devices for energy storage and energy conversion, composites with metal and polymer, electrodes, and catalyst supports [1]. The synthesis and processing of CNTs are challenging tasks for designing self-assembled carbon nanostructured materials. Self-assembled knots of CNT ribbons by dispersion in the solutions of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and PVA have been reported [2]. The homogeneous dispersion/solution of CNT in oleum has been used to fabricate an isotropic film exhibiting fibrillar morphology by leaching and drying [3]. A similar approach has been used in the fabrication of individual CNT fiber blending with polymer solution/gel [2,4]. The CVD of hexane and thiophene in the presence of the ferrocene catalyst has been shown to produce and isolate CNT fiber strands [5]

Methods

Results

Conclusion