The production of carbon nanotubes from carbon dioxide： challenges and opportunities

Abstract Recent advances in the production of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are reviewed with an emphasis on the use of carbon dioxide (CO2) as a sole source of carbon. Compared to the most widely used carbon precursors such as graphite, methane, acetylene, ethanol, ethylene, and coal-derived hydrocarbons, CO2 is competitively cheaper with relatively high carbon yield content. However, CNT synthesis from CO2 is a newly emerging technology, and hence it needs to be explored further. A theoretical and analytical comparison of the currently existing CNT-CO2 synthesis techniques is given including a review of some of the process parameters (i.e., temperature, pressure, catalyst, etc.) that affect the CO2 reduction rate. Such analysis indicates that there is still a fundamental need to further explore the following aspects so as to realize the full potential of CO2 based CNT technology: (1) the CNT-CO2 synthesis and formation mechanism, (2) catalytic effects of transitional metals and mechanisms, (3) utilization of metallocenes in the CNT-CO2 reactions, (4) applicability of ferrite-organometallic compounds in the CNT-CO2 synthesis reactions, and (5) the effects of process parameters such as temperature, etc.

[1]  Marc Monthioux,et al.  Who should be given the credit for the discovery of carbon nanotubes , 2006 .

[2]  F. Rodríguez-Reinoso,et al.  The role of carbon materials in heterogeneous catalysis , 1998 .

[3]  A. Gedanken,et al.  Preparing carbon nanotubes and nested fullerenes from supercritical CO(2) by a chemical reaction. , 2001, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[4]  A. Nasibulin,et al.  The role of metal nanoparticles in the catalytic production of single-walled carbon nanotubes—a review , 2003 .

[5]  Andrew T. Harris,et al.  A Review of Carbon Nanotube Synthesis via Fluidized-Bed Chemical Vapor Deposition , 2007 .

[6]  Zhao Lixin,et al.  Three dimensionally braided carbon fabric-reinforced nylon composites prepared by in situ polymerization , 2005 .

[7]  A. Afolabi,et al.  Synthesis of carbon nanotubes by swirled floating catalyst chemical vapour deposition method. , 2007, Journal of nanoscience and nanotechnology.

[8]  M. Khedr,et al.  CO2 decomposition over freshly reduced nano-crystallite Cu0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 at 400–600 °C , 2008 .

[9]  Joseph M. DeSimone,et al.  Frontiers in green chemistry utilizing carbon dioxide for polymer synthesis and applications , 2000 .

[10]  E. Beckman.  Making Polymers from Carbon Dioxide , 1999, Science.

[11]  Hongjie Dai,et al.  Carbon nanotubes: synthesis, integration, and properties. , 2002, Accounts of chemical research.

[12]  Anne Claire Dupuis,et al.  The catalyst in the CCVD of carbon nanotubes—a review , 2005 .

[13]  P. Lambin,et al.  Carbon nanotube Y junctions: growth and properties , 2004 .

[14]  T. Goswami,et al.  Carbon nanotubes – Production and industrial applications , 2007 .

[15]  Qianwang Chen,et al.  Low temperature synthesis of carbon nanospheres by reducing supercritical carbon dioxide with bimetallic lithium and potassium , 2006 .

[16]  John Robertson,et al.  Realistic applications of CNTs , 2004 .

[17]  T. Reda,et al.  Reversible interconversion of carbon dioxide and formate by an electroactive enzyme , 2008, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[18]  W. Goddard,et al.  A Two-Stage Mechanism of Bimetallic Catalyzed Growth of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes , 2004 .

[19]  Dejian Zhao,et al.  Fabrication of Y-junction carbon nanotubes by reduction of carbon dioxide with sodium borohydride , 2006 .

[20]  Hongjie Dai,et al.  Carbon nanotubes: opportunities and challenges , 2002 .

[21]  L. Chen,et al.  Study on the cycle decomposition of CO2 over NiCr0.08Fe1.92O4 and the microstructure of products , 2007 .

[22]  B. Eliasson,et al.  Hydrogenation of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol with a Discharge-Activated Catalyst , 1998 .

[23]  F. Hong,et al.  Low-temperature growth and field emission of aligned carbon nanotubes by chemical vapor deposition , 2001 .

[24]  Jerry D. Harris,et al.  Growth of multi-walled carbon nanotubes by injection CVD using cyclopentadienyliron dicarbonyl dimer and cyclooctatetraene iron tricarbonyl , 2005 .

[25]  Xiang-ju Xu,et al.  Carbon dioxide as a carbon source for synthesis of carbon nanotubes by chemical vapor deposition , 2007 .

[26]  M. Dresselhaus,et al.  Carbon nanotubes : synthesis, structure, properties, and applications , 2001 .

[27]  D. Glasser,et al.  Fischer–Tropsch synthesis over iron catalysts supported on carbon nanotubes , 2005 .

[28]  S. Rayne.  Thermal Carbon Dioxide Splitting: A Summary of the Peer-Reviewed Scientific Literature , 2008 .

[29]  Zhenhua Li,et al.  Synthesis and Application of Carbon Nanotubes , 2006 .

[30]  A. Farghali,et al.  Microstructure, kinetics and mechanisms of CO2 catalytic decomposition over freshly reduced nano-crystallite CuFe2O4 at 400–600 °C , 2005 .

[31]  Kenneth A. Smith,et al.  Gas-phase catalytic growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes from carbon monoxide , 1999 .

[32]  Qianwang Chen,et al.  Synthesis of carbon nanotubes by reduction of carbon dioxide with metallic lithium , 2003 .

[33]  M. Khedr,et al.  CO2 decomposition over freshly reduced nanocrystalline Fe2O3 , 2007 .

[34]  Evgeny Shafirovich,et al.  Combustion of Magnesium Particles in CO2/CO Mixtures , 1992 .

[35]  C. Hwang,et al.  Preparation and characteristics of ferrite catalysts for reduction of CO2 , 2004 .

[36]  P. Jessop,et al.  Homogeneous catalytic hydrogenation of supercritical carbon dioxide , 1994, Nature.

[37]  M. W. Roberts,et al.  The reactive chemisorption of carbon dioxide at magnesium and copper surfaces at low temperature , 1988 .

[38]  Qiang Xu,et al.  Change of catalytic properties of FeZnO/zeolite composite catalyst in the hydrogenation of carbon dioxide , 1997 .

[39]  T. Ichihashi,et al.  Growth Dynamics of Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes Synthesized by CO2 Laser Vaporization , 1999 .

[40]  M. Khedr,et al.  Reduction of carbon dioxide into carbon by freshly reduced CoFe2O4 nanoparticles , 2006 .

[41]  Milo S. P. Shaffer,et al.  Production of controlled architectures of aligned carbon nanotubes by an injection chemical vapour deposition method , 2003 .

[42]  W. K. Maser,et al.  Large-scale production of single-walled carbon nanotubes by the electric-arc technique , 1997, Nature.

[43]  Marek Trojanowicz,et al.  Analytical applications of carbon nanotubes : a review , 2006 .

[44]  Qianwang Chen,et al.  Reduction of Carbon Dioxide by Magnetite: Implications for the Primordial Synthesis of Organic Molecules , 2000 .

[45]  R. T. Yang,et al.  The accelerating and retarding effects of hydrogen on carbon deposition on metal surfaces , 1986 .

[46]  Ji Liang,et al.  Carbon nanofibers and single-walled carbon nanotubes prepared by the floating catalyst method , 2001 .

[47]  A. Kercher,et al.  AC electrical measurements support microstructure model for carbonization: a comment on ‘Dielectric relaxation due to interfacial polarization for heat-treated wood’ , 2004 .

[48]  Malcolm L. H. Green,et al.  Thinning and opening of carbon nanotubes by oxidation using carbon dioxide , 1993, Nature.

[49]  Yutaka Tamaura,et al.  Complete reduction of carbon dioxide to carbon using cation-excess magnetite , 1990, Nature.