A feasibility study of preparing carbon nanotubes by using a metal dusting process

Metal dusting (MD), often occurs in strongly carburizing atmospheres, is a catastrophic form of corrosion which leads to disintegration of materials into a powdery mixture of graphite and metal dusts. These tiny metal dusts can catalyze the deposition of nano-sized carbon materials from the atmosphere. In this paper, we demonstrate that both muti-wall CNTs and single-wall CNTs can be prepared by exploiting the MD process under proper reaction conditions. Since a steel coupon and a CO–CO2 mixed gas are the only reactants needed, the MD process is low-cost, simple, and easily scaled up. Most importantly, fresh catalyst nano-particles are constantly provided during the process; therefore, a high yield of CNTs is anticipated. It has been confirmed herein that the amount of the CNTs remarkably increases when the reaction time is extended from 30 to 100h, indicating a possibility of the mass production. However, according to TEM observation, the deposited amorphous carbon and metal dusts adhered on surface of the CNTs also gradually increase with prolonging the reaction period.