Polypropylene waste-derived carbon nanotubes (CNTs) via single-stage CVD technique: Determination of crystallinity

Abstract

Basic structural information and carbonic composition of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are necessary in quantifying their purity and possible applications. Utilizing plastic-derived carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in different fields is sometimes limited due to the presence and effect of large amount of amorphous carbon and metals residues arising from the catalyst during their synthesis. These materials result in defects in CNTs which are detrimental to the mechanical strength and electrical conductivity of the obtained CNTs. As a follow-up on a recent study, evaluation of crystallinity of CNTs obtained from waste polypropylene (PP) using a single stage chemical vapour deposition (CVD) technique over NiMo/MgO catalysts, prepared by different methods (sol-gel and incipient wet impregnation methods), via X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis is reported in this study. The obtained crystallinity was compared to that of commercially available CNTs. It was observed that CNTs obtained over sol-gel prepared catalyst displayed almost similar fingerprint crystallinity to that of the commercially obtained CNTs.