Synthesis of carbon nanotube arrays with high aspect ratio via Ni-catalyzed pyrolysis of waste polyethylene

Abstract

Carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays 30–50 nm in diameter and with a length of several micrometers were prepared by catalytic pyrolysis of waste polyethylene in Ar at 773−1073 K using nickel dichloride as a catalyst precursor. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectrometry (Raman), a vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM), and nitrogen adsorption/desorption were used to investigate the effects of the pyrolysis temperature and catalyst contents on the preparation of the aligned CNTs. As results, the as-obtained CNTs had an outer diameter of 30 nm, a wall thickness of 10 nm, and a length of about 50 μm, and their aspect ratio was high up to 1500. The aligned CNTs containing 0.75 wt% Ni prepared at 973 K exhibited good adsorption performance for methylene blue (MB); furthermore, benefiting from the special magnetic properties of residual Ni catalysts, the as-obtained CNTs could be easily magnetically recycled from the treated solution after adsorption.