Surfactant-free synthesis of copper nanoparticles and gas phase integration in CNT-composite materials

Paul Brunet, Ruairi J. McGlynn, Bruno Alessi, Fiona Smail, Adam Boies, Paul Maguire, Davide Mariotti

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)
40 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Copper nanoparticles (Cu-NPs) represent a viable low-cost alternative to replace bulk copper or other more expensive NPs (e.g. gold or silver) in various applications such as electronics for electrical contact materials or high conductivity materials. This study deals with the synthesis of well dispersed Cu-NPs by using an Ar + H2 microplasma using a solid copper precursor. The morphological analysis is carried out by electron microscopy showing particles with a mean diameter of 8 nm. Crystallinity and chemical analyses were also carried out by X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. In the second step, the Cu-NPs were successfully deposited onto porous carbon nanotube ribbons; surface coverage and the penetration depth of the Cu-NPs inside the CNT ribbon structure were investigated as these can be beneficial for a number of applications. The oxidation state of the Cu-NPs was also studied in detail under different conditions.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)781-788
Number of pages8
JournalNanoscale Adv.
Volume3
Issue number3
Early online date10 Dec 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished (in print/issue) - 7 Feb 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This project was supported by EPSRC (EP/M015211/, EP/ R008841/1) and the Department for Economy (n.USI146).

Publisher Copyright:
© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2021.

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