Synthesis and Characterization of Silver Nanoparticle-Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Composites

Marcelo E H Maia Da Costa,Fernando L Freire,Dunieskys G Larrude

doi:10.1155/2014/654068

Marcelo E H Maia Da Costa, Fernando L Freire + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/654068

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Abstract

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) grown by spray pyrolysis have been decorated with silver nanoparticles prepared via the silver mirror reaction. Good dispersion of silver nanostructures was obtained on the surface of MWCNTs, resulting in an efficient and simple wet chemistry method for increasing the reactivity of the carbon nanotubes surfaces. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy showed the orientations of the crystallography planes of the anchored silver nanoparticles and revealed their size distribution. Raman spectroscopy results confirm that the composite material preserves the integrity of the MWCNTs. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were also employed for sample characterization.

Highlights

During the last decades, extensive research has led to the development of versatile methods for modifying carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and to obtain derivatives with more attractive features [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]
We studied the decoration of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) synthesized via spray pyrolysis with silver nanoparticles through a simple wet chemistry route that was based on the silver mirror reaction
High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) revealed the orientations of the crystallography planes of the anchored silver nanoparticles and indicated that the (111) plane of silver face centered cubic structure is perpendicular to the (0002) graphitic planes of the MWCNTs

Summary

Introduction

Extensive research has led to the development of versatile methods for modifying carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and to obtain derivatives with more attractive features [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8] To this end, CNTs decorated with metal nanoparticles (NPs), which exhibit outstanding chemical activity due to their large active surface area and crystallographic surface structure, have been examined for potentials applications in nanoelectronics and heterogeneous catalysis as well as chemical and biochemical sensors [9,10,11,12,13,14,15]. Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed for sample characterization

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Results

Conclusion