“Hairy Foam”: carbon nanofibers grown on solid carbon foam. A fully accessible, high surface area, graphitic catalyst support

Abstract

This paper describes the synthesis of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) on solid carbon foam (“Hairy Foam”) by catalytic decomposition of ethylene. The effect of nickel loading on fiber diameter and morphology, CNF coverage, and fiber layer thickness is studied using SEM and N₂/Kr-physisorption. The surface area increased from 0.12 m²_support g⁻¹_support for reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) to 146 m²_support g⁻¹_support for “Hairy Foam”. A nickel concentration of 0.5 g_Nig⁻¹_RVC results in fibers with a diameter of 30 to 90 nm. Increasing the nickel concentration results in fiber diameters of 30 to 1100 nm. Complete CNF coverage is obtained for a nickel deposition time ≥240 min and a nickel concentration ≥2.5 g_Nig⁻¹_RVC.