Prospects for the use of ultrasonic spray pyrolysis to prepare catalysts for the synthesis of carbon nanofibers

The application of high-frequency ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP) of aqueous solutions for the preparation of the NiO-CuO/10%MgO catalyst is discussed. The installation for the catalyst synthesis consists of a household humidifier, a furnace for drying the formed aerosol, and an electric precipitator for collecting the product particles. The secondary structure of the USP catalysts comprises spherical particles (0.2–5 μm), the diameters of which are defined by the concentration of precursor salts in the solution (0.1–5 wt %). It was shown that the use of USP catalysts for the synthesis of feathery carbon nanofibers (CNFs) (C3H8 decomposition at 700°C) allows us to obtain a more uniform product with the maximum yield when compared with similar samples prepared by coprecipitation and mechanochemical activation. © 2014, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.