"Carbon Nano-structured materials: Synthesis, Characterization and Engineering Applications"

Abstract

At present, carbon nanomaterials play a key role in science and nanotechnology due to their distinct physical and chemical properties, allowing them to be used in many vital applications in various fields. Therefore, the current thesis describes the fabrication and characterization of different types of CNMs such as GNSs, CNTs and GNSs/CNTs hybrid structure. All these carbon-based materials were prepared by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method at different operating conditions depending on their type. Also, high purity methane was used as a carbon precursor in all CVD experiments. To achieve this target, various selective catalysts were prepared and investigated according to the nature and morphology of CNMs products. Several analytical tools including XRD, TPR, BET, TEM, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy were employed for the physicochemical characterization of the prepared catalysts as well as to study the nature and morphology of CNMs products. Finally, some CNMs products were evaluated in water treatment either by using them as adsorbents to remove heavy metals or as photocatalysts for the degradation of organic pollutants. The main conclusions extracted from all the experiments done and the results obtained are listed as follow:  Graphene nanosheets were sucessfuly prepared via chemical vapor deposition of methane using un-supported polycrystalline nickel oxide as a catalyst substrate.  The catalytic growth reaction was conducted at 900 o C under atmospheric pressure. The effect of growth time (30, 60, 90 and 120