Abstract
Thermal plasma processing of carbon sources using a plasma jet with high heat capacity is one of the most promising methods for the synthesis of new materials. A method for obtaining carbon black (CB) and carbon nanotubes (CNT) through the pyrolysis of methane using a thermal plasma direct current (DC) system is reported herein. The cracking operation is performed in the absence of oxygen using an external power source, i.e., a plasma jet generated by an argon plasma torch. The obtained carbonaceous materials were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that CNT are produced in the presence of a catalyst while CB formation occurs without a catalyst. The Raman ID/IG ratio indicated that the sample obtained using a 5%Ni/Al2O3 catalyst contains a higher quantity of pure CNT than the other catalysts tested (10%Ni/Al2O3 and 10%Ni-5%Ce/Al2O3).
Highlights
Recent indications of global warming caused primarily by the emission of greenhouse gases have drawn attention to the fact that the current industrial production methods are not compatible with sustainable development
The experiments performed in this study showed the viability of the continuous synthesis of carbon nanostructures of practical interest using a thermal plasma direct current (DC) system
In this particular synthesis process, CH4 is directly converted by pyrolysis to solid carbon and hydrogen gas
Summary
Recent indications of global warming caused primarily by the emission of greenhouse gases have drawn attention to the fact that the current industrial production methods are not compatible with sustainable development. Methane pyrolysis by argon thermal plasma was performed in order to obtain CNT and CB. For the sample obtained using the 10%Ni5%Ce/Al2O3 catalyst the ID/IG value was 0.95, which indicates the presence of large amounts of impurities, such as amorphous carbon or defective CNT.
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