Preparation of Carbon Materials by Vapor Deposition with Fe3+-Modified Nickel Foam from Biomass Pyrolysis Gas

Abstract

Biomass carbon materials have attracted attention in various fields due to their excellent properties. In this work, carbon materials were prepared by self-designed experimental platform, by using CH4 from biomass pyrolysis gas as the carbon source, and Fe3+-loaded nickel foam as the substrate under argon atmosphere on a two-stage reactor. The reaction process was optimized by examining the effects of the catalyst type, reaction temperature, reaction time, and gas flow rate on the structure and morphology of the carbon materials. The results show that the carbon materials obtained using a FeCl3 ethanol solution as catalyst in Fe3+-loaded nickel foam, a methane flow rate of 50 mL/min, along with a reaction temperature and time of 1000 °C and 25 min, respectively, had a high surface density, a particle size of 250–500 nm, a smooth surface, and a good coverage on the nickel foam substrate. The growth mechanism of the carbon materials on the nickel foam substrate is also discussed.

Keywords: Fe3+-modified nickel foam, Biomass, Pyrolysis gas, Chemical vapor deposition, Carbon materials