Open AccessNanoscale carbon blacks produced by CO2 laser pyrolysis
Author(s) -
Xiang–Xin Bi,
M. Jagtoyen,
Morinobu Endo,
Kanchan Chowdhury,
R. Ochoa,
F.J. Derbyshire,
M. S. Dresselhaus,
P. C. Eklund
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
journal of materials research/pratt's guide to venture capital sources
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 0884-2914
pISSN - 0884-1616
DOI - 10.1557/jmr.1995.2875
Subject(s) - materials science , pyrolysis , carbon black , nanoscopic scale , chemical engineering , raman spectroscopy , carbon fibers , raman scattering , diffraction , laser , particle size , nanoparticle , nanotechnology , composite material , optics , natural rubber , physics , composite number , engineering
CO 2 laser pyrolysis has been used to synthesize carbon black (particle diameter ∼30 nm) via a catalytically driven pyrolysis of benzene vapor. The H : C ratio is found to be ∼1 : 10, which is unusually high for carbon blacks. Subsequent heat treatment of the “laser black” to temperatures up to ∼2800 °C produces well-graphitized faceted particles with central polygonal cavities. High resolution TEM lattice imaging, Raman scattering, and x-ray diffraction have been used to characterize the morphological structure of these carbon particles in their as-synthesized and heat-treated forms. Furthermore, KOH treatment at ∼800 °C has been employed to activate the as-synthesized particles, producing a tenfold increase in the surface area from 50 to 700 m 2 /g. Possible pore structures generated during this activation process have been identified by high resolution TEM imaging.