Characterizations of Carbon Nanospheres Prepared by Deposition Precipitation of Fe-Catalyst onto Activated Carbon Support

Abstract

Carbon nanospheres (CNSs) are known as byproduct of carbon nanotubes synthesis. They are spherical in shape and range in size from roughly 50 nm to 1 μm and depending on the preparation method and raw carbon precursors, they may be hollow or solid core. Applications of CNSs under investigation include use as electrodes in supercapacitors or lithium batteries and catalyst support. In this study, CNSs were synthesized by pyrolysis process. Fe was used as catalyst, activated carbon as support, and palm oil was used as carbon precursors for CNSs growth. Prior to the synthesis of CNSs, Fe-catalyst on carbon supports was prepared by deposition precipitation by varying the amount of catalyst (10%, 20% and 30% wt with respect to the mass of carbon support). The effect of catalyst amount on the morphology and structural characteristics of carbon products was investigated by x-ray diffraction (XRD), BET surface area analysis and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Dense CNSs with turbostratic structures have been produced by pyrolyzing palm oil onto the activated carbon support under nitrogen atmosphere.