Intrinsic Catalytic Activity of ZnFe2O4 Nanoparticles for Nucleation and Growth of Carbon Nanotubes and Nanofibers

The simultaneous in situ growth of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) and nanotubes (CNTs) are accomplished in a single step by thermal gradient chemical vapor deposition using ZnFe2O4 as the catalyst and vaporized acetylene under atmospheric pressure at 750 ºC.The morphology of the grown product is analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The length of CNFs can reach several micrometers and the diameters are about 20 nm.1,2,3