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Wu X, Tu WH, Veksha A, Chen W, Lisak G. Polyolefin-derived substrate-grown carbon nanotubes as binder-free electrode for hydrogen evolution in alkaline media. CHEMOSPHERE 2024; 349:140769. [PMID: 38000550 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.140769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Revised: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023]
Abstract
Switching from a linear mode of waste management to a circular loop by transforming plastic waste into carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is a promising approach to current plastic waste treatment. One of the many applications of CNTs is its use for electrocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen evolution. Existing methods of CNTs-based hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrode fabrication involve additives like polymeric binders and additional steps to improve CNT dispersion, which are detrimental to the CNT structure and properties. The in-situ fabrication approach can potentially be a one-pot solution to HER electrode synthesis. In this study, polyolefins pyrolysis gas and a Co:Ni:Mg catalyst were used to fabricate binder-free CNTs-based electrodes on different substrates for HER. The study assessed CNT quality on conductive carbon paper, semiconductive silicon, and dielectric glass substrates, evaluating their HER performance in 1 M KOH. A mixture of hollow-core, bamboo-like, and cup-stacked arrangement nanotubes were synthesized on the substrates, with CNTs on glass and carbon paper substrates possessing better graphitization than CNTs grown on silicon. This is in agreement with HER performance, whereby the as-prepared electrodes required overpotentials of 267 mV, 241 mV, and 216 mV for silicon, glass, and carbon paper, respectively, to achieve 10 mA/cm2. Despite being poorly conductive, the glass substrate electrode achieved a lower overpotential than the silicon electrode. Additionally, the as-prepared silicon electrode faced a delamination issue likely attributed to the lower surface energy of the silicon substrate surface, demonstrating the weaker adhesion between the CNTs and silicon surface. The proposed approach thus showed that the in-situ fabricated electrodes performed better than separately synthesized CNTs prepared into electrodes by 27.4% and 14.2% for carbon paper and glass substrates, respectively. The improved performance of the as-prepared, binder-free electrodes can be linked to the lower charge-transfer resistance and reduced contact resistance between the CNTs and substrate.
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Affiliation(s)
- XinYi Wu
- Residues and Resource Reclamation Centre (R3C), Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Cleantech Loop, Clean Tech One, 637141, Singapore; School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore
| | - Wei Han Tu
- Residues and Resource Reclamation Centre (R3C), Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Cleantech Loop, Clean Tech One, 637141, Singapore; School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore; Interdisciplinary Graduate Program, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Cleantech Loop, Cleantech One, Singapore, 637141, Singapore
| | - Andrei Veksha
- Residues and Resource Reclamation Centre (R3C), Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Cleantech Loop, Clean Tech One, 637141, Singapore
| | - Wenqian Chen
- Residues and Resource Reclamation Centre (R3C), Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Cleantech Loop, Clean Tech One, 637141, Singapore
| | - Grzegorz Lisak
- Residues and Resource Reclamation Centre (R3C), Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Cleantech Loop, Clean Tech One, 637141, Singapore; School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore.
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Systematic investigation of experimental parameters on nitrogen incorporation into carbon nanotube forests. MATERIALS RESEARCH BULLETIN 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.materresbull.2021.111676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Lobo LS, Carabineiro SAC. Kinetics of Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene Growth on Iron and Steel: Evidencing the Mechanisms of Carbon Formation. NANOMATERIALS 2021; 11:nano11010143. [PMID: 33435552 PMCID: PMC7827186 DOI: 10.3390/nano11010143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2020] [Revised: 01/01/2021] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Carbon formation on steel has recently become an active research area with several important applications, using either carbon nanotubes (CNTs) or graphene structures. The production of vertically aligned CNT (VACNT) forests with combined metals has been explored with important results. Detailed kinetics is the best approach to understand a mechanism. The growth behavior seems complex but can be simplified through the knowledge of the three more common alternative reaction mechanisms/routes. The time required to optimize the production and properties might be reduced. The mechanistic proposal reported in 1971 was better explained recently. The volcano shape Arrhenius plot reported is observed only when Fe, Co, and Ni are used as reaction catalysts. Other metals are catalytically active at higher temperatures, following a different route, which does not require surface catalysis decomposition of the reactive gas. C2H2 and low olefins react well, but CH4 is not reactive via this surface catalysis route. Optimizing production of CNTs, research work is usually based on previous experience, but solid-state science-based studies are available.
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Dasbach M, Pyschik M, Lehmann V, Parey K, Rhinow D, Reinhardt HM, Hampp NA. Assembling Carbon Nanotube Architectures. ACS NANO 2020; 14:8181-8190. [PMID: 32551529 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c01606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Well-defined multiwalled carbon nanotube structures are generated on stainless steel AISI 304 (EN AW 1.4301) by chemical vapor deposition. Pulsed laser-induced dewetting (PLiD) of the surface, by 532 nm nanosecond laser pulses, is utilized for the preparation of metal oxide nanoparticle fields with a defined particle number per area. The reduction of the precursor particles is achieved in an Ar/H2 (10% H2) atmosphere at 750 °C, thereby generating catalytic nanoparticles (c-NPs) for carbon nanotube (CNT) growth. Ethylene is used as a precursor gas for CNT growth. CNT lengths and morphology are directly related to the c-NP aerial density, which is dependent on the number of dewetting cycles during the PLiD process. Within a narrow window of c-NP per area, vertically aligned carbon nanotubes of great lengths are obtained. For more intense laser treatments, three-dimensional dewetting occurs and results in the formation of cauliflower-like structures. The laser process enables the creation of all kinds of CNT morphologies nearby on the microscale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Dasbach
- Department of Chemistry, Philipps-University of Marburg, Hans-Meerwein-Strasse 4, 35032 Marburg, Germany
| | - Markus Pyschik
- Department of Chemistry, Philipps-University of Marburg, Hans-Meerwein-Strasse 4, 35032 Marburg, Germany
| | - Viktor Lehmann
- Department of Chemistry, Philipps-University of Marburg, Hans-Meerwein-Strasse 4, 35032 Marburg, Germany
| | - Kristian Parey
- Max-Planck Institute for Biophysics, Max-von-Laue Strasse 3, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Daniel Rhinow
- Department of Chemistry, Philipps-University of Marburg, Hans-Meerwein-Strasse 4, 35032 Marburg, Germany
- Max-Planck Institute for Biophysics, Max-von-Laue Strasse 3, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Hendrik M Reinhardt
- Department of Chemistry, Philipps-University of Marburg, Hans-Meerwein-Strasse 4, 35032 Marburg, Germany
| | - Norbert A Hampp
- Department of Chemistry, Philipps-University of Marburg, Hans-Meerwein-Strasse 4, 35032 Marburg, Germany
- Material Science Center, 35032 Marburg, Germany
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Brown J, Hajilounezhad T, Dee NT, Kim S, Hart AJ, Maschmann MR. Delamination Mechanics of Carbon Nanotube Micropillars. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2019; 11:35221-35227. [PMID: 31478639 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b09979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The adhesion of carbon nanotube (CNT) forests to their growth substrate is a critical concern for many applications. Here, we measured the delamination force of CNT forest micropillars using in situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tensile testing. A flat tip with epoxy adhesive first established contact with the top surface of freestanding CNT pillars and then pulled the pillars in displacement-controlled tension until delamination was observed. An average delamination stress of 6.1 MPa was measured, based on the full pillar cross-sectional area, and detachment was observed to occur between catalyst particles and the growth substrate. Finite element simulations of CNT forest delamination show that force and strain are heterogeneously distributed among CNTs during tensile loading and that CNTs progressively lose adhesion with increased displacement. Based on combined experiments and simulations, an adhesion strength of approximately 350 MPa was estimated between each CNT and the substrate. These findings provide important insight into CNT applications such as thermal interfaces, mechanical sensors, and structural composites while also suggesting a potential upper limit of tensile forces allowed during CNT forest synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josef Brown
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering , University of Missouri , Columbia , Missouri 65201 , United States
| | - Taher Hajilounezhad
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering , University of Missouri , Columbia , Missouri 65201 , United States
| | - Nicholas T Dee
- Department of Mechanical Engineering , Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge , Massachusetts 02139 , United States
| | - Sanha Kim
- Department of Mechanical Engineering , Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge , Massachusetts 02139 , United States
| | - A John Hart
- Department of Mechanical Engineering , Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge , Massachusetts 02139 , United States
| | - Matthew R Maschmann
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering , University of Missouri , Columbia , Missouri 65201 , United States
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Campo T, Pinilla S, Gálvez S, Sanz JM, Márquez F, Morant C. Synthesis Procedure of Highly Densely Packed Carbon Nanotube Forests on TiN. NANOMATERIALS 2019; 9:nano9040571. [PMID: 30965642 PMCID: PMC6523890 DOI: 10.3390/nano9040571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2019] [Revised: 03/30/2019] [Accepted: 04/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The goal of this research was to obtain high-density single-walled carbon nanotube forests (SWNTs) on conductive substrates for different applications, including field emission. For this, dip-coating was chosen as the catalyst deposition method, to subsequently grow SWNTs by Alcohol Catalytic Chemical Vapor Deposition (AC-CVD). Si (100) was chosen as the substrate, which was then coated with a TiN thin film. By sputtering with Ar, it was possible to generate alternating TiN and Si lanes, with a different wettability and, therefore, a different affinity for the catalysts. As a result, the Mo-Co catalyst was mainly deposited on TiN and not on sputtered-Si, which allowed the selective growth of SWNT forests on the TiN conductive surfaces. These as-synthesized SWNTs were used for field emission measurements in a high vacuum chamber.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Campo
- Laboratory of Coatings and Nanostructures, Department of Applied Physics, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Sergio Pinilla
- Laboratory of Coatings and Nanostructures, Department of Applied Physics, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
- Instituto Nicolás Cabrera, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Santos Gálvez
- Laboratory of Coatings and Nanostructures, Department of Applied Physics, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
| | - José María Sanz
- Laboratory of Coatings and Nanostructures, Department of Applied Physics, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
- Instituto Nicolás Cabrera, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Francisco Márquez
- Nanomaterials Research Group, Department of Chemistry, Universidad Ana G. Méndez-Gurabo Campus, 189 St. Rd. km 3.3, Gurabo, PR 00778, USA.
| | - Carmen Morant
- Laboratory of Coatings and Nanostructures, Department of Applied Physics, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
- Instituto Nicolás Cabrera, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
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