Carbon nanotubes prepared in situ in a cellular ceramic by the gelcasting-foam method

Sébastien Rul (1) , Christophe Laurent (1) , Alain Peigney (1) , Abel Rousset (1)

1 CIRIMAT - Centre interuniversitaire de recherche et d'ingenierie des matériaux

The synthesis of carbon nanotubes from an oxide solid solution foam is reported for the first time. A foam of Mg0.9Co0.1Al2O4 solid solution is prepared by the gelcasting-foam method using notably mono- and di-functional acrylate monomers. Using a surfactant in the alkylpolyglucoside family allows to prevent structure changes in the foam before the onset of polymerisation. The wet ceramic foam is dried in air, producing a foam with an open porosity. Total porosity is equal to about 98% and the diameter of the pores is in the range 25-300 mm, about 90% being smaller than 200 mm. The Mg0.9Co0.1Al2O4 foam is reduced in H2-CH4 atmosphere, giving rise to a CNTs-Co MgAl2O4 composite foam. Using the foam instead of the corresponding powder allows a fourfold increase in the production of carbon nanotubes, more than 95% of which have only 1 (70%) or 2 walls.

Mots clés: Carbon nanotubes; Foams; Gelcasting; MgAl2O4; Nanocomposites

Domaines: Matériaux; Matériaux

Sébastien Rul, Christophe Laurent, Alain Peigney, Abel Rousset. Carbon nanotubes prepared in situ in a cellular ceramic by the gelcasting-foam method. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 2003, vol. 23, pp. 1233-1241. ⟨10.1016/S0955-2219(02)00286-8⟩. ⟨hal-00949855⟩