FABRICATION OF CARBON NANOTUBES FROM LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION

Abstract

This paper presents the fabrication of carbon nanotubes from liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by chemical vapour deposition with Fe/SiO₂ as a catalyst. The morphology and tube diameter of the carbon nanotubes are dependent on the flow rates of H₂ and LPG, and the crystal growth temperature. The obtained CNTs were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analyses. The results indicate that the suitable conditions for forming the nano-sized tubes are 700 °C for 2 hours with the H₂ and LPG flow rate of 140 mL·min^–1 and 80  mL·min^–1, respectively. The multi-walled structures with long, less defective tubes and identical external diameter of 52 nm and BET surface area of 93 m²·g^–1 are obtained.