Comparison of growth mechanisms of undoped and nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers on nickel-containing catalysts

The growth mechanisms of carbon nanofibers on Ni catalysts and nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers on Ni and Ni-Cu catalysts were studied. The growth of both types of nanofibers was found to occur by a mechanism that included the formation of surface non-stoichiometric nickel carbide followed by the dissolution and diffusion of carbon, or carbon and nitrogen into the bulk of the catalyst particles. (C) 2016, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.