Nanotube synthesis by thermal plasma for lithium-ion batteries / synthèse de nanotubes par plasma thermique pour piles lithium-ion

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Excellent physicochemical properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) make them good candidates for many applications ranging from lightweight materials for transportations to new catalytic supports for other functional materials. In a collaborative effort between the Université de Sherbooke (UdeS), l'Institut de recherche de l'Hydro-Québec (IREQ)., a new 50-kW induction thermal plasma system has been recently redesigned and started up for the mass production of SWCNTs as well as other type of nanotubes such as silicon nanotubes (SiNTs) and Li4Ti5O12 nanotube in a continuous manner to make the Li-ions batteries (LIBs) more powerful by improving the performance of the electrodes particularly the anode. The nanotube synthesis process is based on the evaporation of the raw feedstock materials by using a radio frequency (RF) plasma torch as a heat source to activate generation of the precursor species involved in the formation of SWCNTs. In the last 4 years, UdeS with others partners has successfully demonstrated that the SWCNT can be continuously synthesized at a purity level of above 30 % using RF inductively coupled plasma reactor with a fraction of the cost of conventional technologies.To realize the industrial applications, however, practical methods for the precise control of nanostructure as well as direct modification of their chemical properties are essentially required to tailor their functional performance specifically. In this project, it is proposed to develop an economically viable reactor capable of producing a minimum of one kilogram of product material per day, containing SWCNTs, SiNTs and Li4Ti5O12 nanotube with a concentration of at least 95 weight-percent. This goal will only be realized through optimizing the feeding rate of the powder feeder, upgrading the data acquisition system, controlling the mass balance of the system, characterizing different types of the reactant mixtures with the metal catalysts for each type of nanotubes and finally purifying the nanotube containing materials by an in-situ and post-processing treatments to be used in LIBs.