Catalytic decomposition of methane for the simultaneous co-production of CO(2)-free hydrogen and carbon nanofibre based polymers

Through the catalytic decomposition of methane (CDM) it is possible to obtain in a single step both CO(2)-free hydrogen and carbon nanostructures with a wide range of applications such as nanocomposite reinforcements. In this work, a Ni-based catalyst has been used to carry out the catalytic decomposition, obtaining an hydrogen concentration up to 47% (vol.) in the flue gas and carbon nanofibres (CNF). These structures have been inserted into two epoxy resins with different viscosity in order to study the influence of the CNF load in the electrical resistivity of the new materials prepared. As a result, the resistivity of these materials decreases up to 106 X cm, values which avoid the electrostatic discharge and allow the electrostatic painting. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.