A low-temperature operated in situ synthesis of TiC-modified carbon nanotubes with enhanced thermal stability and electrochemical properties.

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with superior thermal and electrochemical properties are desirable for a large variety of applications. Herein, an in situ synthesis carried out at 1050 °C is proposed for the realization of titanium carbide (TiC) modified CNTs (TiC@CNTs) via a carbothermal treatment of the TiO2-coated CNTs deposited by a TALD technology, preserving the structural morphologies of CNT samples. Crystalline and amorphous TiC layers/nanoparticles are observed around the walls of CNTs, serving as a thermal insulation layer to enhance the thermal stability of CNTs. The TiC@CNT sample exhibits a minimal mass loss of 3.1%, which is 20.9% and 82.3% for the TiO2@CNT and pristine-CNT samples, respectively. In addition, the TiC@CNT electrode shows good energy storage performances, with a specific capacitance of 2.83 mF cm-2 at 20 μA cm-2, which is about 3.5 times higher than that of the pristine-CNT electrode, showing the potential of TiC@CNTs as next-generation electrode materials.

• Authors: Huanhuan Du, Yurong Wang, Dongyang Xiao, Yili Zhang, Fangjing Hu, Leimeng Sun
• Journal: Nanoscale advances (Nanoscale Adv) Vol. 4 Issue 11 Pg. 2444-2451 (May 31 2022) ISSN: 2516-0230 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 36134137 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.