Scale-up Study on the Synthesis Amount of Ni-graphite Core-shell Nanoparticles

Various carbon-material applications require different carbon-material structures and characteristics. Thus, mass synthesis technology must be secured for these applications. In previous studies, Ni-graphite core-shell nanoparticles (CSNPs) comprising Ni nanoparticles wrapped in several graphene layers were synthesized via the thermal reduction of NiO nanoparticles using H2 in a horizontal thermochemical vapor-deposition (TCVD) system. This synthesis was limited by the low production of Ni-graphite CSNPs, i.e., few grams per hour. Therefore, a scale-up of the synthesis is required. The mass synthesis of Ni-graphite CSNPs was performed using vertical TCVD. The Ni-graphite CSNP synthesis using NiO nanoparticles was controlled via gas pressure and gravity. In this study, we conducted an investigation to scale up the synthesis of Ni-graphite CSNPs. The previous production of Ni-graphite CSNPs at a rate of a few grams per hour was improved to >100 g per hour. The Ni-graphite CSNPs synthesized in this study maintained their structural and physical properties.