Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation of Carbon Nanotube Synthesis in a Carbon Vapour Deposition Using Fe-Co/ CaCO3 as Catalyst

Abstract

This paper presents the 3-dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation study of carbon nanotube (CNT) synthesis and deposition in a chemical vapour deposition (CVD) using Fe-Co/ CaCO3 as catalyst. It aims to provide better understanding of the CVD synthesis system regarding the carbon tube deposition process and the fluid dynamic behaviour inside the reactor. The simulated model adopted temperature dependent variable scheme to predict velocity, temperature, mass fraction of reactants and products and surface deposition profiles. Simulation results were compared with the experimental data for CNT deposition in a CVD reactor. The results of this study showed that, there is a good agreement between experimental data and simulation results, thereby confirming the reliability of this simulation work. The developments in this work build the ground work in order to explain how flow characteristics affect carbon nanotube deposition, which invariably will be crucial for the design, optimization and scale-up of a CVD reactor.