FORMATION OF CARBON NANOTUBES ON CARBON PAPER AND STAINLESS STEEL SCREEN BY OHMICALLY HEATING CATALYTIC SITES

A newly designed gas phase thermal decomposition reactor, ohmically heating the catalytic sites, has been used to synthesize multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on carbon paper and stainless steel screen. Co-Ni catalyst particles were dispersed by a silane intermediate layer adsorbed onto the carbon fibers or the stainless steel threads of the supports. MWCNTs were obtained on both substrates by a tip grown mechanism. They are about 20 μm in length and 15–50 nm in diameter. A methanol pretreatment of the carbon fibers significantly increased the density of the tubes on the carbon paper, but the same treatment had a negative effect on stainless steel. The MWCNTs, which adhere firmly to the carbon paper and the stainless steel screen, may find applications as electrodes in fuel cells, sensors and in photonics.