Copper/molybdenum nanocomposite particles as catalysts for the growth of bamboo-structured carbon nanotubes
Li, Zhonglai; Larsson, J. Andreas; Larsson, Peter; Ahuja, Rajeev; Tobin, Joseph M.; O'Byrne, Justin; Morris, Michael A.; Attard, Gary; Holmes, Justin D.
Date:
2008-07-23
Copyright:
© 2008 American Chemical Society. This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jp8023556
Citation:
Li, Z., Larsson, J. A., Larsson, P., Ahuja, R., Tobin, J. M., O’Byrne, J., Morris, M. A., Attard, G. and Holmes, J. D. (2008) 'Copper/Molybdenum Nanocomposite Particles as Catalysts for the Growth of Bamboo-Structured Carbon Nanotubes', The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 112(32), pp. 12201-12206. doi: 10.1021/jp8023556
Abstract:
Bamboo-structured carbon nanotubes (BCNTs), with mean diameters of 20 nm, have been synthesized on MgO-supported Cu and Mo catalysts by the catalytic chemical vapor deposition of methane. BCNTs could only be generated using a combination of Cu and Mo catalysts. No BCNTs were produced from either individual Cu or Mo catalysts. In combination, Mo was found to be essential for cracking the methane precursor, while Cu was required for BCNT formation. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis of the individual particles at the tips of the nanotubes suggest that Cu and Mo are present as a “composite” nanoparticle catalyst after growth. First-principles modeling has been used to describe the interaction of the Cu/Mo catalyst with the nanotubes, suggesting that the catalyst binds with the same energy as traditional catalysts such as Fe, Ni, and Co.
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