Thermal, Raman and surface area studies of microcoiled carbon fiber synthesized by CVD microwave system

An attempt was made to synthesize coiled carbon fibers over nickel catalyst using acetylene as a carbon source at 700 °C by microwave technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO) studies showed presence of disordered carbon in these materials. Highly coiled carbon fibers were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). From a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study, the average diameter of the fiber was measured ≈200 nm. A Raman spectra of microcoiled carbon fiber was also recorded at room temperature under a nitrogen atmosphere. It has been observed that the surface area of the microwave derived microcoiled carbon was 62 m²g^-1. This value of surface area of microcoiled carbon was found to decrease with increasing temperature.