Fabrication of novel micro–nano carbonous composites based on self-made hollow activated carbon fibers

The hollow activated carbon fibers (HACF) were prepared by using commercial polypropylene hollow fiber (PPHF) as the template, and phenol-formaldehyde resin (PF) as carbon precursors. Final HACF was formed through the thermal decomposition and carbonization of PF at 700 °C under the nitrogen atmosphere, and activation at 800 °C with carbon dioxide as the activating agent, consecutively. Then, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques using the as-grown porous HACF as substrate. The growth process was achieved by pyrolyzing ethanol steam at 700 °C using nickel as catalyst. Finally, CNTs was grown successfully on the substrate, and a novel tree-like micro–nano carbonous structure CNTs/HACF was fabricated. The as-grown HACF and micro–nano CNTs/HACF were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TG), respectively. Moreover, the formation mechanisms were also discussed.