Carbon Nanotubes from Polyethylene: Experimental Study and Modelling Approach

The traditional methods for production of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) utilize graphite, carbon monoxide or hydrocarbons for the construction of the carbon skeleton of CNT, and different kinds of metals as catalysts. Moreover, all these methods usually require critical operating conditions that are very expensive, and then strongly restrict the fields of applications of these nanostructures This paper reports the experimental results obtained by applying a new technique for a continuous, mass production of high-quality multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), based on fluidized bed pyrolysis of different polymers [Arena et al., 2006]. Analytical characterization of the nano-structured materials obtained by feeding polyethylene has been carried out by means of TG-DTA, SEM and TEM, Raman and X-ray. The chemical mechanism of the CNTs synthesis is also described with reference to the catalytic effect of metal nanoparticles.