Plasma catalysis of carbon nanofibers
AssigneeApplied Sciences, Inc.
InventorElliot Byron Kennel
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A process for forming carbon nanofibers by means of pyrolyzation with plasma in a reactor is disclosed. The process includes the steps of: providing, in a reactor, a first catalyst in the form of solid catalytic particles; applying a vacuum to the reactor to create a reduced pressure in the reactor; feeding a first mixture of gases including a carbon-based gas into the reactor; forming, from the carbon-based gas, a plasma containing carbon free-radical species; and forming, in the presence of the catalytic particles, carbon nanofibers.
Claims24
A process for making carbon nanofibers in a reaction vessel comprising the steps of:
- providing, in a reactor, a first catalyst in the form of solid catalytic particles said first catalyst selected from the group consisting of iron or iron alloys, nickel or nickel alloys, cobalt or cobalt alloys, ferrocene, iron pentacarbonyl, sulfur, hydrogen sulfide, iron sulfide and nickel nitrate;
- applying a vacuum to the reactor to create a reduced pressure in the reactor;
- feeding a first mixture of gases including a carbon-based gas into the reactor;
- providing a microwave energy source to heat the reactor to a reaction temperature and form plasma,
- forming, from the carbon-based gas, a plasma containing carbon free-radical species;
- and forming, in the presence of the catalytic particles, which serve to nucleate fibers and cause the beginning of fiber growth, the plasma containing carbon free-radical species into carbon nanofibers, and
- optionally feeding a second growth catalyst gas into the reactor to cause the carbon nanofibers to increase diametrically in size.
A process for making carbon nanofibers in a reactor comprising the steps of:
- applying a vacuum to the reactor to create a reduced pressure in the reactor;
- feeding a first mixture of gases including a carbon-based gas into the reactor;
- providing a microwave energy source to heat the reactor to a reaction temperature and form plasma;
- feeding a catalyst gas into the reactor, said catalyst gas selected from the group consisting of iron pentacarbonyl, hydrogen sulfide, and a ferrocene-xylene mixture;
- forming, from the carbon-based gas, a plasma containing carbon free-radical species;
- and
- forming, in the presence of the catalyst gas, which serves to nucleate fibers and cause the beginning of fiber growth, the plasma containing carbon free-radical species into carbon nanofibers, and optionally feeding a second growth catalyst gas into the reactor to cause the carbon nanofibers to increase diametrically in size.
A process for forming an carbon-epoxy matrix material comprising the steps of:
- providing, in a reactor, solid catalyst particles on a substrate;
- feeding a mixture of gases including a hydrogen gas and a carbon-based gas into the reactor;
- forming, from the carbon-based gas, a plasma containing carbon free-radical species;
- forming, in the presence of the catalytic particles, carbon nanofibers;
- removing the substrate bearing the carbon nanofibers from the reactor;
- forming a mold in which a portion of the mold is formed by the substrate;
- infiltrating the mold with an epoxy composition to form a carbon-epoxy matrix material containing carbon nanofibers throughout its thickness;
- and
- removing the matrix material from the mold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.