| Since the discovery by Iijima in1991, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have evoked wide interest due to their remarkable properties. In recent years, considerable efforts have been devoted to decorate CNTs with a variety of metal nanoparticles and measure the unique electrical, magnetic and optical properties of the metal nanoparticles-CNTs composite materials. In this thesis, our main aim is to decorate CNTs with metal nanoparticles and find some application for the metal nanoparticles-CNTs composite materials. Our main research is focused in two aspects:We introduced a novel work on the synthesis of Ag-multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by wrapping MWCNTs with dialdehyde starch (DAS) and reducing Ag+using DAS as complexant and reductant. The process was simple, economical, environment friendly and proceeded at room temperature. The Ag-MWCNTs were analyzed by TEM, FT-IR, XRD and AAS, respectively. The as prepared Ag-MWCNTs were used as antibacterial materials against E. coli, B. subtilis, B. megaterium, M. tetragenus, and exhibited superior antibacterial activities.We explored a simple and novel method to fill multiwalled carbon nanotubes with Ni-Fe alloys by methylbenzene-oriented constant current electrodeposition. This method was time-saving, economical, environment friendly and proceeded at low temperature. A possible mechanism of electrodepositing Ni-Fe alloys inside MWCNTs was discussed in this study. The Ni-Fe alloys filled MWCNTs were analyzed by TEM, FT-IR, XRD, VSM and AAS. The Ni-Fe alloys filled MWCNTs with stoichiometries from (100:0) to (60:40) as catalysts were used in direct hydrazine (N2H4)-air fuel cells to determine the optimum composition for hydrazine electrocatalysis. |
