Synthesis of graphitic nanofibres using iron (III) oxide catalyst for hydrogen storage application

Graphitic nanofibres were synthesised using the chemical vapour decomposition method with ethylene (C2H4) as the carbon feedstock and iron (III) oxide as the catalyst. A parametric study was conducted to determine the optimum conditions for producing graphitic nanofibres by applying the Taguchi method. The result shows that the optimum conditions are at 600°C for 4 h and C2H4/H2 flowrate of 30 : 70 mL min-1. Under these conditions, the sample shows the highest yield and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller specific surface area that are 4.489 g g cat-1 h-1 and 556.65 m2 g -1 respectively. The sample is applied in H2 adsorption/desorption process at 77 K and pressure of 20 bar. The mass uptake is found to be 0.643 wt-%. © W. S. Maney & Son Ltd. 2009.