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Carbon nanotube synthesis using ferrocene and ferrocenyl sulfide. The effect of sulfur
Author(s) -
Mohlala M. Sarah,
Liu XinYing,
Witcomb Mike J.,
Coville Neil J.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
applied organometallic chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.53
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1099-0739
pISSN - 0268-2605
DOI - 10.1002/aoc.1176
Subject(s) - sulfur , chemistry , thiophene , ferrocene , catalysis , carbon nanotube , sulfide , high resolution transmission electron microscopy , carbon fibers , inorganic chemistry , amorphous carbon , toluene , organic chemistry , chemical engineering , amorphous solid , materials science , electrochemistry , transmission electron microscopy , composite material , electrode , composite number , engineering
Abstract Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have been synthesized by the floating catalyst method using toluene as the carbon source and mixtures of ferrocene and ferrocenyl sulfide as the catalyst. Products were characterized by both low‐resolution and high‐resolution (HR) TEM analysis. It was found that the presence of large amounts of sulfur in the reactant mixture generated only amorphous carbon while lower amounts of sulfur led to mixtures of MWCNTs and carbon fibres. The product distribution, yield and the tube diameters varied with the sulfur content. HRTEM analysis revealed that the MWCNTs were poorly graphitized. Comparison with data using other sulfur sources (S 8 , thiophene) suggested that the proximity of the sulfur to the Fe catalyst in the gas phase did play a role in the CNT formation and provides a method of ‘carrying’ elements to a catalytic site. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.