Control of iron nanoparticle size by manipulating PEG–ethanol colloidal solutions and spin-coating parameters for the growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes--颗粒学报PARTICUOLOGY

Seah, C.-M., Chai, S.-P., Ichikawa, S., & Mohamed, A. R. (2013). Control of iron nanoparticle size by manipulating PEG–ethanol colloidal solutions and spin-coating parameters for the growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes. Particuology, 11(4), 394–400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2012.11.004

Control of iron nanoparticle size by manipulating PEG–ethanol colloidal solutions and spin-coating parameters for the growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes

Choon-Ming Seah ^a, Siang-Piao Chai ^b, Satoshi Ichikawa ^c, Abdul Rahman Mohamed ^a *

a School of Chemical Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Seberang Perai Selatan, P. Pinang, Malaysia
b Chemical Engineering Discipline, School of Engineering, Monash University, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, 46150 Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia
c Institute for NanoScience Design, Osaka University, 1-3, Machikaneyama-cho, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531, Japan

10.1016/j.partic.2012.11.004

Volume 11, Issue 4, August 2013, Pages 394-400

Received 2 May 2012, Revised 30 October 2012, Accepted 22 November 2012, Available online 26 February 2013.

E-mail: chrahman@eng.usm.my

Highlights

► Iron nanoparticles were prepared on silicon wafers via spin-coating colloidal solution.

► The smallest and most uniform iron catalyst particles were selected for CCVD.

► The effects of various operating parameters were studied.

► Single-walled CNTs with high selectivity were synthesized.

Abstract

Iron catalyst nanoparticles were prepared on silicon wafers by spin-coating colloidal solutions containing iron nitrate, polyethylene glycol (PEG) and absolute ethanol. The effects of various spin-coating conditions were investigated. The findings showed that the size of the iron particles was governed by the composition of the colloidal solution used and that a high angular speed was responsible for the formation of a thin colloidal film. The effect of angular acceleration on the size and distribution of the iron particles were found to be insignificant. It was observed that a longer spin-coating duration provoked the agglomeration of iron particles, leading to the formation of large particles. We also showed that single-walled carbon nanotubes could be grown from the smallest iron catalyst nanoparticles after the chemical vapor deposition of methane.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Iron nanoparticle; Spin coating; Colloid; Single-walled carbon nanotube

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