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Synthesis of nano onion-like fullerenes by chemical vapor deposition using an iron catalyst supported on sodium chloride

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Abstract

Nano-carbon materials were synthesized by the catalytic decomposition of acetylene at 420 °C using iron supported on sodium chloride as catalyst. The catalysts contain about 0.3, 1.6, 3.3, and 5.2 wt% iron. The samples were examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The results show that nano onion-like fullerenes (NOLFs) surrounding an Fe3C core were obtained using the catalyst containing 0.3 wt% iron. These had a structure of stacked graphitic fragments, with diameters in the range 15–50 nm. When the product was further heat treated under vacuum at 1,100 °C, NOLFs with a clear concentric graphitic layer structure were obtained. The growth mechanism of NOLFs encapsulating metallic cores is suggested to be in accordance with a vapor–solid growth model.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the financial support from National Natural Science Foundation of China (20971094), International S&T Co-operation Program (2007DFA50940), International S&T Co-operation Program of Shanxi Province (2009081018, 2010081017), Natural Science Foundation of Shanxi Province (2009011012-4), and Shanxi Research Fund for Returned Scholars (2008-31).

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Correspondence to Xuguang Liu.

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Yang, Y., Liu, X., Guo, X. et al. Synthesis of nano onion-like fullerenes by chemical vapor deposition using an iron catalyst supported on sodium chloride. J Nanopart Res 13, 1979–1986 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-010-9951-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-010-9951-0

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