Nano Express
Confident methods for the evaluation of the hydrogen content in nanoporous carbon microfibers
1 Materials Science Institute, University of Valencia, 46071 Valencia, PO Box 22085, Spain
2 CENIM, , Av. Gregorio del Amo 8, 28040 Madrid, Spain
3 Instituto de Estructura de la Materia (CSIC), , C/ Serrano 121, 28006 Madrid, Spain
4 CIEMAT, , 04200 Tabernas, Almeria, Spain
Nanoscale Research Letters 2012, 7:588 doi:10.1186/1556-276X-7-588
Published: 24 October 2012Abstract
Nanoporous carbon microfibers were grown by chemical vapor deposition in the vapor-liquid solid mode using different fluid hydrocarbons as precursors in different proportions. The as-grown samples were further treated in argon and hydrogen atmospheres at different pressure conditions and annealed at several temperatures in order to deduce the best conditions for the incorporation and re-incorporation of hydrogen into the microfibers through the nanopores. Since there are some discrepancies in the results on the hydrogen content obtained under vacuum conditions, in this work, we have measured the hydrogen content in the microfibers using several analytical methods in ambient conditions: surface tension, mass density, and Raman measurements. A discussion on the validity of the results obtained through the correlation between them is the purpose of the present work.
