Immobilization of CNFs on the surface and inside of the modified activated carbon

The applications of carbon nanotubes or nanofibers (CNTs/CNFs) in chemistry and catalysis require the availability of large amount of materials with well-defined surface, chemical and mechanical properties. Loose CNTs/CNFs are unsuitable as they cannot be controlled in their suprastructural properties and operations of compaction can destroy or at least inhibit the access of the reactant to the nanostructures. It is mandatory for chemical applications to use only one chemical element for all dimensions of structuring and to avoid the combination of nanocarbon with non-carbon support structures. An ideal substrate is activated carbon (AC) from natural sources. Such bio-inorganic polymers are well structured in several dimensions, reactive for modifications and available in masses. The present work describes the ways to modify the activated carbon obtained from the bio-waste of palm oil production as host for the growth of nanocarbon. CNFs can be immobilized on the outer surface and nested inside of the activated carbon leading to hierarchically structured carbon materials that are highly suitable for sorption and catalytic applications and for binder-filler applications. (c) 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.