KR20090014757A - Method and apparatus of collecting carbon nano tube - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus of synthesizing carbon nanotube is provided to improve reaction rate with a reaction gas by flowing catalyst of a powder form supplied to inside of a reaction chamber up and down to fixed height through a rotor installed at base part. An apparatus(100) of synthesizing carbon nanotube comprises a reaction chamber(110) serving a space for synthesizing the carbon nanotube, a catalyst supply part(120) supplying catalyst of a powder form inside a reaction chamber, a reacting gas providing unit(130) supplying a reaction gas reacting to the catalyst and forming the carbon nanotube inside the reaction chamber and a rotor(140) forming ascending current for flowing catalyst supplied from the catalyst supply part in an upper direction. The rotor comprises one or more rotating vanes.

Description

Carbon nanotube synthesis method and apparatus {METHOD AND APPARATUS OF COLLECTING CARBON NANO TUBE}

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for synthesizing carbon nanotubes, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for synthesizing carbon nanotubes through the synthesis of a catalyst and a reaction gas.

In general, carbon nanotubes having a diameter of nanometers (carbon nanotubes) are formed by combining three carbon atoms adjacent to one carbon atom to form a hexagonal ring. It has the form of a tube.

Carbon nanotubes have properties that can exhibit metallic conductivity or semiconductor conductivity depending on their structure. In addition, carbon nanotubes have excellent quantum, electrical, mechanical, and chemical properties, and can be used for a variety of devices including electron emission sources, secondary batteries, hydrogen storage fuel cells, medical and engineering micro components, high-performance composite materials, electrostatic and electromagnetic wave shielding materials, etc. Applicable to the field.

Methods of manufacturing carbon nanotubes include laser deposition, plasma chemical vapor deposition, thermochemical vapor deposition, flame synthesis, electro-discharge, and pyrolysis. have.

Pyrolysis is a method of thermally decomposing a reaction gas such as a hydrocarbon and reacting it with a catalyst made of a transition metal such as iron to form carbon nanotubes. Most of these carbon nanotube production methods are produced in small quantities depending on manual labor. In particular, a process of applying a catalyst to a composite substrate, loading / unloading a composite substrate into a reaction chamber, and recovering carbon nanotubes from the composite substrate by unloading a composite substrate having carbon nanotubes synthesized in the reaction chamber Since the back is advanced by the operator, continuous processes and mass production are difficult, and there is a problem in that productivity is reduced.

In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a method for synthesizing carbon nanotubes which can increase the productivity of carbon nanotubes and reduce production costs.

The present invention also provides a carbon nanotube synthesis apparatus particularly suitable for carrying out the carbon nanotube synthesis method described above.

According to the method for synthesizing carbon nanotubes according to an aspect of the present invention, a reaction chamber is heated, and a catalyst in powder form and a reaction gas for reacting with the catalyst to form carbon nanotubes are provided in the reaction chamber. Then, by forming a rising air flow through the rotation of the rotor installed in the base of the reaction chamber to flow the catalyst in the upper direction to synthesize carbon nanotubes. At this time, the catalyst is preferably supplied after the operation of the rotor.

The apparatus for synthesizing carbon nanotubes according to an aspect of the present invention includes a reaction chamber, a catalyst supply unit, a reaction gas supply unit, and a rotor. The reaction chamber provides a space for synthesizing carbon nanotubes. The catalyst supply unit supplies a catalyst in powder form into the reaction chamber. The reaction gas supply unit supplies a reaction gas that reacts with the catalyst to form carbon nanotubes in the reaction chamber. The rotor is installed at the base of the reaction chamber to form an upward airflow for flowing the catalyst supplied from the catalyst supply upwards.

The rotor may include one or more rotary vanes that are inclined at an angle with respect to the base surface of the reaction chamber.

The carbon nanotube synthesizing apparatus may further include a heating unit installed outside the reaction chamber and a gas exhaust unit exhausting the reaction gas to the outside of the reaction chamber.

According to the method and apparatus for synthesizing carbon nanotubes, it is possible to improve the reaction rate with the reaction gas by flowing the catalyst in the form of powder supplied into the reaction chamber up and down to a certain height through the rotor installed in the base. In addition, by flowing the catalyst through the rotor, it is not necessary to use a separate carrier gas for the flow of the catalyst, there is an effect that the production cost is reduced.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. As the inventive concept allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the text. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to the specific disclosed form, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In describing the drawings, similar reference numerals are used for similar components. In the accompanying drawings, the dimensions of the structures are shown in an enlarged scale than actual for clarity of the invention.

Terms such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as the second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as the first component.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "having" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, action, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and that one or more other features It should be understood that it does not exclude in advance the possibility of the presence or addition of numbers, steps, actions, components, parts or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art and shall not be construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined in this application. Do not.

1 is a schematic view showing a carbon nanotube synthesis apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the carbon nanotube synthesis apparatus 100 includes a reaction chamber 110, a catalyst supply unit 120, a reaction gas supply unit 130, and a rotor 140.

The reaction chamber 110 provides a space for synthesizing carbon nanotubes therein. Since the synthesis of carbon nanotubes is typically made at a high temperature of about 500 ℃ to 1100 ℃, the reaction chamber 110 is formed of a material that can withstand high temperatures. For example, the reaction chamber 110 is formed of a heat resistant material such as quartz, graphite, or the like. The reaction chamber 110 is formed to have a cylindrical shape standing vertically. For example, the reaction chamber 110 may have a cylindrical shape having a long axis in a vertical direction.

The catalyst supply unit 120 supplies the catalyst 122 in powder form to the inside of the reaction chamber 110. Catalyst 122 consists of a metal or oxide in powder form. For example, the catalyst 122 may include transition metals such as iron, platinum, cobalt, nickel, and yttrium, and alloys thereof, and magnesium oxide (MgO), aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ), silicon oxide (SiO ₂ ), and the like. It may include a porous material of.

The catalyst supply unit 120 supplies the catalyst 122 in powder form to the inside of the reaction chamber 110 through at least one catalyst supply pipe 124 formed to penetrate the side of the reaction chamber 110. In order to efficiently flow the catalyst 122 supplied from the catalyst supply unit 120 through the rotor 140, the catalyst supply pipe 124 is preferably formed at a position higher than the rotor 140. Meanwhile, the amount of the catalyst 122 supplied into the reaction chamber 110 may be controlled through a catalyst control valve (not shown) connected to the catalyst supply pipe 124.

The reaction gas supply unit 130 supplies the reaction gas 132 into the reaction chamber 110. The reaction gas 132 reacts with the catalyst 122 to form carbon nanotubes, and may include, for example, acetylene, ethylene, methane, benzene, xylene, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, or the like.

The reaction gas supply unit 130 supplies the reaction gas 132 into the reaction chamber 110 through at least one gas supply pipe 134 formed to penetrate the reaction chamber 110. The reaction gas supply unit 130 supplies the reaction gas 132 through the side of the reaction chamber 110 such that the reaction gas 132 is supplied above the rotor 140. To this end, the gas supply pipe 134 is formed at a position higher than the rotor 140. Meanwhile, the flow rate of the reaction gas 132 supplied into the reaction chamber 110 may be adjusted through a gas control valve (not shown) connected to the gas supply pipe 134.

The rotor 140 is installed at the base of the reaction chamber 110. The rotor 140 is rotated by a rotating means 142 such as a motor disposed outside the reaction chamber 110 to generate an upward air flow for flowing the catalyst 122 supplied from the catalyst supply unit 120 upward. Form. The catalyst 122 flows up and down to a predetermined height inside the reaction chamber 110 through an upward airflow formed through the rotation of the rotor 140. As a result, the probability that the catalyst 122 and the reaction gas 132 may contact each other increases, thereby increasing the gas reaction rate of the catalyst 122, and the catalyst 122 is evenly distributed in the reaction chamber 110. The diameter of the carbon nanotubes can be easily adjusted. At this time, the flow height of the catalyst 122 may be adjusted by adjusting the rotational speed of the rotor 140.

As such, when the catalyst 122 is flowed through the rotation of the rotor 140 installed at the base of the reaction chamber 110, a separate flow gas for flowing the catalyst 122 does not have to be used. This can greatly reduce the cost.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of the rotor shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II ′ of FIG. 2.

2 and 3, the rotor 140 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a rotating body 142 and one or more rotating vanes 144.

The rotating body 142 is rotated by the rotating means 142 such as a motor disposed outside the reaction chamber 110. The rotary blade 144 is formed to extend outward from the rotary body 142, and rotates according to the rotation of the rotary body 142. The rotary vanes 144 are formed to be inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the base surface of the reaction chamber 110 to form an upward airflow. The rotary vanes 144 may have a planar shape, as shown in FIG. 3. In addition, the rotary blade 144 may have a streamlined shape, such as a fan of the fan, or may be formed in various shapes that can smoothly form the raised airflow.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the carbon nanotube synthesis apparatus 100 may further include a heating unit 150 installed outside the reaction chamber 110 to heat the reaction chamber 110. The heating unit 150 may be formed to surround the outer wall of the reaction chamber 110, for example. The heating unit 150 may include, for example, a heating coil or a heating lamp to heat the reaction chamber 110.

In order to activate the reaction gas 132, the heating unit 150 heats the temperature inside the reaction chamber 110 to be about 500 ° C. to 1100 ° C., and maintains the temperature. Accordingly, the reaction gas 132 supplied from the reaction gas supply unit 130 into the reaction chamber 110 is activated by pyrolysis, and these react with the catalyst 122 to generate carbon nanotubes.

The carbon nanotube synthesis apparatus 100 may further include a gas exhaust unit 160. The gas exhaust unit 160 is installed above the reaction chamber 110, for example. The gas exhaust unit 160 does not react with the catalyst 122 and discharges the reaction gas 132 remaining in the reaction chamber 110 to the outside of the reaction chamber 110. To this end, the gas exhaust unit 160 may include an exhaust pump.

Figure 4 is a schematic view showing a carbon nanotube synthesis apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, the rest of the configuration except for the reactive gas supply unit is the same as that shown in FIG. 1, and therefore, the same reference numerals are used for the same components, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 4, the reaction gas supply unit 130 supplies the reaction gas 132 through the bottom surface of the reaction chamber 110 such that the reaction gas 132 is supplied from the lower portion of the rotor 140. For this purpose, the gas supply pipe 134 is connected to the base surface of the reaction chamber 110. As such, when the reaction gas 132 is supplied from the lower part of the rotor 140, the fluidity of the reaction gas 132 is increased through the rising airflow formed by the rotor 140, and thus, the reaction gas 132 is increased. The reaction rate can be further improved.

Hereinafter, a method of synthesizing carbon nanotubes according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

In order to synthesize carbon nanotubes, the reaction chamber 110 is heated such that the internal temperature of the reaction chamber 110 becomes a target temperature. For example, the heating of the reaction chamber 110 may be performed through the heating unit 150 installed outside the reaction chamber 110. The target temperature is a temperature for activating the reaction gas 132 to synthesize the catalyst 122 and may have a range of about 500 ° C to 1100 ° C.

Powder 122 for the synthesis of carbon nanotubes 122 is supplied into the reaction chamber 110. The catalyst 122 includes transition metals such as iron, platinum, cobalt, nickel, and yttrium, and alloys thereof and oxides such as magnesium oxide (MgO), aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ), and silicon oxide (SiO ₂ ). can do. The catalyst 122 is preferably formed in a spherical shape in order to secure a relatively large area for reacting with the reaction gas 132. On the other hand, the size, density, degree of aggregation, etc. of the catalyst 122 may be variously changed according to the conditions, types, and the like of the process. The catalyst 122 may be supplied through the catalyst supply unit 120 installed outside the reaction chamber 110. At this time, for efficient flow of the catalyst 122, the catalyst 122 is preferably supplied from the upper side of the rotor 140.

The reaction gas 132, which reacts with the catalyst 122 to form carbon nanotubes, is supplied into the reaction chamber 110. The reaction gas 132 may include acetylene, ethylene, methane, benzene, xylene, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, or the like. Supply of the reaction gas 132 may be made through a reaction gas supply unit 130 installed outside the reaction chamber 110. In this case, the reaction gas supply unit 130 supplies the reaction gas 132 through the side of the reaction chamber 110 so that the reaction gas 132 is supplied above the rotor 140, or the reaction gas 132. The reaction gas 132 may be supplied through the base surface of the reaction chamber 110 so that the gas is supplied from the bottom of the rotor 140.

On the other hand, the heating of the reaction chamber 110, the supply of the catalyst 122 and the supply of the reaction gas 132 may be performed at the same time, or may proceed separately with a time difference.

In this embodiment, for the flow of the catalyst 122, an upward airflow is formed in the upper direction of the reaction chamber 110 at the bottom of the reaction chamber 110. The formation of the upward airflow may be achieved by the rotation of the rotor 140 installed at the base of the reaction chamber 110.

The catalyst 122 flows up and down to a predetermined height inside the reaction chamber 110 by the rising air flow formed through the rotation of the rotor 140. As a result, the probability that the catalyst 122 and the reaction gas 132 may contact each other increases, thereby increasing the gas reaction rate of the catalyst 122, and the catalyst 122 is evenly distributed in the reaction chamber 110. The diameter of the carbon nanotubes can be easily adjusted. At this time, the flow height of the catalyst 122 may be adjusted by adjusting the rotational speed of the rotor 140. On the other hand, in order to prevent the overload of the rotor 140 or the phenomenon that the catalyst 122 is stuck or blocked on the rotating shaft of the rotor 140, it is preferable to supply the catalyst 122 after the rotor 140 is operated. Do.

As such, when the catalyst 122 is flowed through the rotation of the rotor 140 installed at the base of the reaction chamber 110, a separate flow gas for flowing the catalyst 122 does not have to be used. This can greatly reduce the cost.

According to the present invention, in the method and apparatus for synthesizing carbon nanotubes, when the catalyst flows up and down to a certain height by forming an upward airflow through the rotation of a rotor installed at the base of the reaction chamber, the reaction rate between the catalyst and the reaction gas is increased. Is improved. Accordingly, it is possible to improve the efficiency of the carbon nanotube synthesis process, it is possible to significantly reduce the production cost by removing a separate flow gas for the flow of the catalyst.

In the detailed description of the present invention described above with reference to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art or those skilled in the art having ordinary knowledge in the scope of the invention described in the claims to be described later It will be understood that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention.

1 is a schematic view showing a carbon nanotube synthesis apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the rotor shown in FIG.

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II ′ of FIG. 2.

Figure 4 is a schematic view showing a carbon nanotube synthesis apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: carbon nanotube synthesis apparatus 110: reaction chamber

120: catalyst supply unit 122: catalyst

130: reaction gas supply unit 132: reaction gas

140: rotor 150: heating part

160: gas exhaust unit

Claims (6)

Heating the interior of the reaction chamber; Supplying a catalyst in powder form to the inside of the reaction chamber; Supplying a reaction gas which reacts with the catalyst to form carbon nanotubes into the reaction chamber; And And forming a rising air stream through the rotation of the rotor installed at the base of the reaction chamber to flow the catalyst in an upward direction to synthesize carbon nanotubes. The method of claim 1, wherein the catalyst is supplied after operation of the rotor. A reaction chamber providing a space for synthesizing carbon nanotubes; A catalyst supply unit supplying a catalyst in powder form to the reaction chamber; A reaction gas supply unit supplying a reaction gas reacting with the catalyst to form carbon nanotubes in the reaction chamber; And And a rotor installed at the base of the reaction chamber and configured to form an upward air flow for flowing the catalyst supplied from the catalyst supply part in an upward direction. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the rotor comprises one or more rotary vanes that are inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the base surface of the reaction chamber. The method of claim 3, The catalyst comprises at least one of iron, platinum, cobalt, nickel, yttrium, magnesium oxide, aluminum oxide and silicon oxide, The reaction gas is carbon nanotube synthesis apparatus comprising at least one of acetylene, ethylene, methane, benzene, xylene, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The method of claim 3, A heating unit installed outside the reaction chamber to heat the reaction chamber; And And a gas exhaust unit configured to exhaust the reaction gas to the outside of the reaction chamber.

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