Analysis of Carbon Nanotubes Produced by Pyrolysis of Composite Film of Poly (Vinyl Alcohol) and Modified Fly Ash

Dilip C. D. Nath, Veena Sahajwalla

.

DOI: 10.4236/msa.2012.32016                

Abstract

We determined the catalytic function of chemically modified fly ash (MFA) for the growth of carbon nanotube (CNT) ropes with ~54% yield by the pyrolysis of the composite film of poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) at 500°C for 10 min under 2 L/min flow of nitrogen. Fly ash was treated with 2M sodium hydroxide to have MFA and used with PVA to fabricate the composite film by aqua casting. CNT was analyzed using SEM, TEM, XPS and Raman spectroscopy. The growths of CNT on MFA surfaces were visualized with different geometric self-assembly, e.g., bundles of CNT in ropes, twisted ropes, Y-branch ropes and staked-cone sheet. Thus, the mixtures of CNT ropes and MFA are a potential filler material for fabricating composites with polymer and metal.

Keywords

Poly (Vinly Alcohol); Fly Ash; Carbon Nanotube and Self-Assembly

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	R. H. Baughman, A. A. Zakhidov and W. A. D. Heer, “Carbon Nanotubes the Route toward Applications,” Science, Vol. 297, No. 5582, 2002, pp. 787-792. doi:10.1126/science.1060928
[2]	B. Vigolo, A. Penicaud, C. Coulon, C. Sauder, R. Pailler, C. Journet, P. Bernier and P. Poulin, “Macroscopic Fibers and Ribbons of Orientated Carbon Nanotubes,” Science, Vol. 290, No. 5495, 2000, pp. 1331-1334. doi:10.1126/science.290.5495.1331
[3]	T. V. Sreekumar, T. Liu, S. Kumar, L. M. Ericson, R. H. Hauge and R. E. Smalley, “Single-Wall Carbon Nanotube Films,” Chemistry of Materials, Vol. 15, No. 1, 2003, pp. 175-178. doi:10.1021/cm020367y
[4]	A. B. Dalton, S. Collins, E. Munoz, J. M. Razal, V. H. Ebron, J. P. Perraris, J. N. Coleman, B. G. Kim and R. H. Baughman, “Super-Tough Carbon-Nanotube Fibres,” Nature, Vol. 423, 2003, pp. 703-703. doi:10.1038/423703a
[5]	B. Wei, R. Vajtai, Y. Y. Choi and P. M. Ajayan, “Structural Characterizations of Long Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Strands,” Nano Letter, Vol. 2, No. 10, 2002, pp. 1105-1107. doi:10.1021/nl025719e
[6]	M. Benito, Y. Maniette, Y. Aniette, E. Mogoza, T. M. Martnez, “Carbon Nanotubes Production by Catalytic Pyrolysis of Benzene,” Carbon, Vol. 36, No. 5-6, 1998, pp. 681-683. doi:10.1016/S0008-6223(98)00039-6
[7]	T. Oku, K. Niihara and K. Suganuma, “Formation of Carbon Nanocapsules with SiC Nanoparticles Prepared by Polymer Pyrolysis,” Journal of Materials Chemistry, Vol. 8, No. 6, 1998, pp. 1323-1325. doi:10.1039/a801912f
[8]	O. P. Krivoruchko, N. I. Maksimova, V. I. Zaikovskii and A. N. Salanov, “Study of Multiwalled Graphite Nanotubes and Filaments Formation from Carbonized Products of Polyvinyl Alcohol via Catalytic Graphitization at 600?C - 800?C in Nitrogen Atmosphere,” Carbon, Vol. 38, No. 7, 2000, pp. 1075-1082. doi:10.1016/S0008-6223(99)00225-0
[9]	S. Wang, “Application of Solid Ash Based Catalysts in Heterogeneous Catalysis,” Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 42, No. 19, 2008, pp. 7055-7063. doi:10.1021/es801312m
[10]	D. C. D. Nath, S. Bandyopadhyay, A. Yu, D. Blackburn and C. White, “High Strength Bio Composite Films of Poly (Vinyl Alcohol) Reinforced with Chemically Modified-Fly Ash,” Journal of Materials Science, Vol. 45, No. 5, 2010, pp. 1354-1360. doi:10.1007/s10853-009-4091-6
[11]	O. M. Dunens, K. J. Mackenzie and A. T. Harris, “Synthesis of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes on Fly Ash Derived Catalysts,” Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 43, No. 20, 2009, pp. 7889-7894. doi:10.1021/es901779c
[12]	J. P. Gorninski, D. C. D. Molin and C. S. Kazmierczak, “Study of the Modulus of Elasticity of Polymer Concrete Compounds and Comparative Assessment of Polymer Concrete and Portland Cement Concrete,” Cement & Concrete Research, Vol. 34, No. 11, 2004, pp. 2091-2095. doi:10.1016/j.cemconres.2004.03.012
[13]	P. K. Rohatgi, N. Gupta and S. Alaraj, “Thermal Expansion of Aluminum-Fly Ash Cenosphere Composites Synthesized by Pressure Infiltration Technique,” Journal of Composite Materials, Vol. 40, No. 13, 2006, pp. 1163-1173. doi:10.1177/0021998305057379
[14]	D. C. D. Nath and V. Sahajwalla, “Application of Fly Ash as a Catalyst for Synthesis of Carbon Nanotube Ribbons,” Journal of Hazardous Materials, Vol. 192, No. 2, 2011, pp. 691-697. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2011.05.072
[15]	D. C. D. Nath and V. Sahajwalla, “Growth of Carbon Nanotubes by Pyrolysis of Composite Film of Poly (Vinyl Alcohol) and Modified Fly Ash,” Materials Science and Applications, 2011, ID: 7700662.
[16]	J. L. Shie, Y. H. Chen, C. Y. Chang, J. P. Lin, D. J. Lee and C. H. Wu, “Thermal Pyrolysis of Poly (Vinyl Alcohol) and Its Major Products,” Energy & Fuels, Vol. 16, No. 1, 2002, pp. 109-118. doi:10.1021/ef010082s
[17]	D. S. Bethune, C. H. Klang, M. S. de Varies, G. Gorman, R. Savory, J. Vazquez and R. Beyers, “Cobalt-Catalysed Growth of Carbon Nanotubes with Single-Atomic-Layer Walls,” Nature, Vol. 363, No. 6430, 1993, pp. 605-607. doi:10.1038/363605a0
[18]	A. Oberlin, M. Endo and T. Koyama, “Filamentous Growth of Carbon through Benzene Decomposition,” Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol. 32, No. 3, 1976, pp. 335-349. doi:10.1016/0022-0248(76)90115-9
[19]	L. Ming, P. Joyce, T. Ying, B. Chris, P. Kian, E. Loh, T. Soon and F. Yong-Lim, “Dynamical Observation of Bamboo-Like Carbon Nanotube Growth,” Nano Letter, Vol. 7, No. 8, 2007, pp. 2234-2238. doi:10.1021/nl070681x
[20]	C. B. Liu, H. M. Cheng, H. T. Cong, F. Li, G. Su, B. L. Zhou and M. S. Dresselhaus, “Synthesis of Macroscopically Long Ropes of Well-Allinged Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes,” Advanced Materials, Vol. 12, No. 16, 2000, pp. 1190-1192. doi:10.1002/1521-4095(200008)12:16<1190::AID-ADMA1190>3.0.CO;2-C
[21]	J. E. Moulder, W. F. Stickle, P. E. Sobol and K. D. Bomben, “Handbook of X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy,” Perkin Elmer Corporation, Waltham, 1992.
[22]	A. A. Didik, V. I. Kodolov, A. Y. Volkov, E. G. Volkova and K. H. Hallmeier, “Low-Temperature Growth of Carbon Nanotubes,” Inorganic Materials, Vol. 39, No. 6, 2003, pp. 583-587. doi:10.1023/A:1024045002419
[23]	J. Kastner, T. Pichler, H. Kuzmany, S. Curran, W. Blau, D. N. Weldon, M. Delamesiere, S. Draper and H. Zandbergen, “Resonance Raman and Infrared Spectroscopy of Carbon Nanotubes,” Chemical Physics Letter, Vol. 221, No. 1-2, 1994, pp. 53-58. doi:10.1016/0009-2614(94)87015-2
[24]	Y. Ando, X. Zhao and H. Shimoyama, “Structure Analysis of Purified Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes,” Carbon, Vol. 39, No. 4, 2001, pp. 569-574. doi:10.1016/S0008-6223(00)00162-7
[25]	D. C. D. Nath and V. Sahajwalla, “Growth Mechanism of Carbon Nanotube Produced by Pyrolysis of a Composite Film of Poly (Vinyl Alcohol) and Fly Ash,” Applied Physics A, Vol. 104, No. 2, 2011, pp. 539-544. doi:10.1007/s00339-011-6405-1