Synthesis of carbon nanotubes using orange biomass - Phase II
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have high mechanical resistance, capillarity, and electrical conductivity, as well as a unique electronic structure, which makes these materials very promising. Studies indicate that it is possible to synthesize CNTs from biomass. Therefore, this study aimed to synthesize CNTs from an agricultural waste product generated in abundance in Brazil, which has no large-scale application: orange biomass. To do this, orange biomass was burned in a nitrogen atmosphere and then reacted in a microwave with a reagent called “ferrocene.” As a result, carbon nanotubes with a diameter of approximately 20 nm were successfully obtained. The formation of CNTs was verified using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. The synthesis of CNTs was repeated using different proportions of orange biomass and ferrocene reagent. It was found that the greater the mass of ferrocene, the greater the masses of nanotubes obtained. The highest conversion percentage was 42%. Future studies aim to use another more suitable container and act under pressure for the reaction of the precursor material and the ferrocene reagent in the microwave, in order to obtain higher quality and greater quantities of CNTs. In addition, we intend to characterize the new CNTs synthesized by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) in order to verify the hollow structure of this type of material. Finally, the aim is to seek practical applications for CNTs formed from orange biomass, such as in the production of green hydrogen, as well as to study the technical and economic feasibility for both stages, synthesis and application of the product.