Production of carbon nanofibers in high yields using a sodium chloride support.

A new route for the highly convenient scalable production of carbon nanofibers on a sodium chloride support has been developed. Since the support is nontoxic and soluble in water, it can be easily removed without damage to the nanofibers and the environment. Nanofiber yields of up to 6500 wt % relative to the nickel catalyst have been achieved in a growth time of 15 min. Electron microscopy (SEM, TEM) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) indicated that the catalytically grown carbon had relatively little thermal over-growth and possessed either a herringbone or a semi-ordered nanostructure, depending on the growth conditions.