Influence of Calcining Temperature of Aerogel Catalyst on Its Catalytic Activity for Synthesizing SWNTs

The influence of calcining temperatures of the Fe/Mo/Al_2O_3 aerogel catalyst on its catalytic activity for synthesizing single walled carbon nanotubes(SWNTs)was investigated.The main research aspects were the physical and chemical changes of the catalysts under different calcining temperatures, the content of amorphous carbon,and the content and diameter and graphitization degree of SWNTs synthesized by the catalysts.The results show that different calcining temperatures will change the surface morphology of the catalyst and result in the crystallization of the Al_2O_3 support,which influences the growth of SWNTs.When it is calcined at 600℃,the aerogel catalyst has the highest catalytic activity,the content of amorphous carbon is as low as 1.7%,and the content of SWNTs is as high as 54.6%.SWNTs synthesized by the catalyst in the raw products have high quality,with narrow diameter distribution of about 0.86nm.