Ni CVD Catalyst for the Selective Preparation of small-diameter herringbone-type Graphite Nanofibers and their use in catalysis

Abstract

Graphite nanofibers (GNF) constitute an interesting carbon material for catalytic applications. Indeed, in addition to their large mesoporosity, the peculiar orientation of the graphene layers may influence the metal-support interaction [1] and thus, results in specific catalytic activity. As far as the production of GNF is concerned, most of the catalytic CVD processes used afford ill-defined materials. Indeed, GNF diameters distribution is usually large (20-100nm) [2-4] and the resulting specific surface area is often in the range 50-100m²/g [5,6]. These two points can reduce the field of their applications as catalyst support in heterogeneous catalysis. In this work, we report the selective growth of small diameter herringbone-type GNF by C-CVD on catalysts produced by fluidized bed organometallic CVD. First results dealing with the catalytic performances of PtRu/GNF systems for the selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde will be also presented.