Although the traditional TCVD method is a simple and inexpensive
process for producing high purity CNCs effectively, the CNC
yield of this method is poor and unfavorable for industrialization.
Baddour et al. have grown CNTs on stainless steel particles with
CVD in a fluidized bed system (FBCVD) to increase the yield [18].
However, compared with the traditional TCVD methods and
FBCVD, the spray pyrolysis method (SPCVD) has many advantages
such as the possibility of a substrate-free, continuous reaction, and
shorter heating or cooling time for the furnace [19e22]. This
method can be easily applied for the mass-production of nanocarbonaceous
materials and is therefore more favorable for
industrialization.
Aguilar-Elguezabal et al. successfully used spray pyrolysis of a
ferrocene/benzene mixture to produce aligned, multiwalled carbon
nanotubes (MWCNTs) [22]. Su et al. demonstrated a simple technique
that involved dissolving ferrocene in alcohol and sprayed the
solution into the reaction zone for the continuous production of
high-purity, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) [20]. Zhang
et al. used spray pyrolysis of ethanol to synthesize carbon nanofibers
from carbon particles [23].
However, using the SPCVD method to produce pure CNCs has
yet to be reported. In this study,we used poly(styrene-co-NIPAAm)/
Pd nanoparticles [24] as a catalyst to synthesize carbonaceous
samples with the spray pyrolysis method in a vertical CVD reactor.
The morphologies of the synthesized carbon products were
observed and their yield was evaluated