Mathematical Modeling of Carbon Nanotubes Formation in Fluidized Bed Chemical Vapor Deposition

Abstract This study investigates mathematical modeling of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) formation on catalyst particulate in a fluidized bed chemical vapor deposition (FBCVD) reactor. The mass of CNTs formed corresponds to the catalyst activity directly. The catalyst deactivation occurs as active sites are occupied by CNTs and thus causes unsteady state behavior of the process. The effects of catalyst loading (as bed height) as well as reaction temperature on the reaction progressing were investigated. The model, validated with our experimental data, indicates a good accuracy to predict the yield of CNTs formation for a given operating conditions. The model presented also can predict the optimized time as well as the suitable amount of catalyst loading to produce CNTs for a given reactor conditions.