In this study, Fe–Mo–MgO catalysts for the synthesis of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were prepared using the combustion method and CNTs were synthesized through catalytic chemical vapor deposition. The combustion time was controlled to 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, and 24 h in the catalyst preparation stage. The residual carbon contents after the combustion stage and the morphologies of synthesized CNTs were also analyzed. The diameter, yield, and crystallinity of the synthesized CNTs were found to remarkably vary according to the combustion time in the catalyst preparation process. The amount of residual carbon in the catalyst considerably affects the purity, crystallinity, diameter and its distribution, and wall number of CNTs. Based on the yield and crystallinity, CNTs synthesized using the catalyst with a combustion time of 3 h were determined to be the most appropriate for application in field emitters

We demonstrated size control of Au nanoparticles by heat treatment and their use as a catalyst for single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNTs) growth with narrow size distribution. We used uniformly sized Au nanoparticles from commercial Au colloid, and intentionally decreased their size through heat treatment at 800 oC under atmospheric Ar ambient. ST-cut quartz wafers were used as growth substrates to achieve parallel alignment of the SWNTs and to investigate the size relationship between Au nanoparticles and SWNTs. After the SWNTs were grown via chemical vapor deposition using methane gas, it was found that a high degree of horizontal alignment can be obtained when the particle density is low enough to produce individual SWNTs. The diameter of the Au nanoparticles gradually decreased from 3.8 to 2.9 nm, and the mean diameter of the SWNTs also changed from 1.6 to 1.2 nm for without and 60 min heat treatment, respectively. Raman results reconfirmed that the prolonged heat treatment of nanoparticles yields thinner tubes with narrower size distribution. This work demonstrated that heat treatment can be a straightforward and reliable method to control the size of catalytic nanoparticles and SWNT diameter.

On cold start operation of an SI engine, a catalyst shows poor performance before it reaches activation temperature. Therefore, fast warmup of the catalyst is very crucial to reduce harmful emissions. In this study, an appropriate control strategy is investigated to increase exhaust gas temperature through changes of spark timing and exhaust valve timing. Combustion stability is also considered at the same time. Experiments showed that retarded spark timing promotes the combustion at the end of expansion stroke and increases exhaust gas temperature during cold start.An advance of exhaust valve timing decreases residual gas in cylinders due to decrease of valve overlap period. It helps improvement combustion stability by virtue of reduced residual gas. A control strategy of proper valve timing and spark timing is suggested in order to achieve fast light-off of the catalyst and stable operation of the engine in a cold start and idle operation