Synthesis and structure of NiCu and NiAl electroexplosive nanoparticles for production of carbon nanofibers

The nanoparticles consisting of Ni with Cu (6-27 at.%) and Al (6-24 at.%) were produced by a joint electrical explosion of dissimilar wires for the first time. Their specific surface area ranges from 7.7 to 12.8 m2/g and from 3.6 to 7.1 m2/g for NiCu and NiAl, respectively. The crystal structure of nanoparticles corresponds to solid so-lutions. The samples were studied in the catalytic pyrolysis of C2-C4 hydrocarbons with the production of carbon nanofibers (CNFs). It was found that the addition of Al and Cu in concentrations up to 20 at.% leads to a sig-nificant increase in productivity of Ni-based catalyst. Thus, the specific yield of CNF (YC) was increased by almost 4 times for the NiAl series (from 8.7 to 32 g/gNi, sample Ni91Al9); the addition of Cu raised the carbon yield value by 14 times (YC = 123 g/gNi, sample Ni85Cu15).

Automated summary

For the first time, nanoparticles composed of Ni, Cu (6-27 at.%) and Al (6-24 at.%) were produced through a joint electrical explosion of dissimilar wires. The specific surface area ranges were 7.7 to 12.8 m2/g for NiCu and 3.6 to 7.1 m2/g for NiAl. The crystal structure of the nanoparticles corresponded to solid solutions. In the catalytic pyrolysis of C2-C4 hydrocarbons for carbon nanofiber (CNF) production, it was discovered that the addition of Al and Cu in concentrations up to 20 at.% significantly increased the productivity of Ni-based catalysts. The specific yield of CNF (YC) increased by almost 4 times for the NiAl series (from 8.7 to 32 g/gNi, sample Ni91Al9); the addition of Cu raised the carbon yield value by 14 times (YC = 123 g/gNi, sample Ni85Cu15).