New tailored carbon nanofilaments for catalytic applications

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The project deals with the synthesis, the characterisation and the scale-up preparation of carbon nanofilaments and nanotubes, and will also be focused on their uses in catalysis, directly as catalyst or as high external surface area catalyst supports. They will also be used as removable template for nanomaterial syntheses. Nowadays these carbon nanostructures are among the most exciting new materials being investigated because of their great potential for uses in new technologies and processes. Among these new technologies, the field of catalysis seems to be one of the most promising. Syntheses with high yields were successfully achieved in the laboratory in Strasbourg via catalytic hydrocarbon decomposition. The products obtained by this process do not need any further purifications, which significantly reduces the production cost. The scale-up of this synthesis process will be one of the main objective of the project together with the accurate control of the carbon nanofilament structure. The comprehension of the growth kinetic is at stake. Carbon nanofilaments can offer several properties, depending on the faces exposed at the outer surfaces. By tailoring the angle between the graphene sheets and the nanofiber axis, one can continuously modify the surface physico-chemistry of the material (hydrophobic/hydrophilic properties, surface acid-base functions, redox activity, ...). The catalytic oxidehydration reaction (activation of oxygen on the non-functionalised graphene basal planes) with a good control in selectivity will be the first studied reaction. Target reactants are light linear hydrocarbons and ethylbenzene, where products are light olefins, styrene and/or the corresponding oxygenated molecules. The high external surface area of these materials and the peculiar interactions between the active phase and the exposed graphite plane have fundamental implications for other liquid and gas phase reactions which will also be studied. Removable template uses will mainly concern magnetic component and nanozeolite synthesis.