Abstract
A facile solution-chemical method has been developed to be capable of covering a multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNTs) with iron oxide nanorods without using any bridging species. MWNTs in this composite were decorated randomly by α-Fe2O3 nanorods with diameters in the range of 3–5 nm and lengths of 15–30 nm. The formation route to anchor α-Fe2O3 nanorods onto MWNTs was proposed as the intercalation and adsorption of iron ions onto the wall of MWNTs, followed by the nucleation and growth of α-Fe2O3 nanorods. α-Fe2O3/MWNTs nanocomposites show specific high Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface areas. The photocatalytic activity experiment indicated that the prepared α-Fe2O3/MWNTs nanocomposites exhibited a higher photocatalytic activity for the photocatalytic decolorization of rhodamine B aqueous solution under the visible-light illumination than the single phase α-Fe2O3 samples. This methodology made the synthesis of MWNTs-nanorods composites possible and may be further extended to prepare more complicated nanocomposites based on MWNTs for technological applications.
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Acknowledgments
This study has been supported by the National Nature Science Foundation (50903040, 51103065), the special grade of the financial support from China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (201003554), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (20090451169), the Jiangsu Postdoctoral Science Foundation (0901078C), and the Senior Intellectuals Fund of Jiangsu University (11JDG108).
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Song, H., Qian, J., Jia, X. et al. A new one-step synthesis method for coating multi-walled carbon nanotubes with iron oxide nanorods. J Nanopart Res 14, 698 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-011-0698-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-011-0698-z