SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE
Coiled flow inverter mediated synthesis of activated carbon fiber-supported Ni nanoparticles†
a
Nishith
Verma
*ab
and
Abstract
Ni nanoparticle-dispersed activated carbon fibers (Ni/ACFs) were synthesized for the first time via a continuous flow single-stage process using a coiled flow inverter (CFI) at ∼30 °C. The process involved impregnation of an aqueous slurry of ACF with Ni-salt, followed by reduction using hydrazine, each performed separately in CFIs connected in series. Physicochemical characterization of Ni/ACF revealed Ni nanoparticles in the micropores of the substrate, with uniform elemental distributions. X-ray diffraction spectroscopy confirmed the reduction of Ni2+ to zero-valent Ni. A maximum Ni-loading of ∼564 mg g−1 was achieved using 0.5 M NiCl2·6H2O and 2 g per 100 mL ACF-dose at a flow rate of 200 cc min−1 of the Ni/ACF containing stream, which was higher than that in the conventional batch synthesis method, attributed to the flow inversion and secondary flow-enhanced mass transfer rates in CFIs. The catalytic activity analysis of Ni/ACF through two preparation reactions, namely the oxygen reduction reaction and the catalytic decomposition of acetylene to form carbon nanofibers by chemical vapor decomposition, corroborated its efficiency as a catalyst. This study has clearly provided a fast, effective, and energy-efficient method for the continuous synthesis of supported metal nanoparticle catalysts.
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