J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2015, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (9): 881-887.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2015.07.003

• Orginal Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Carbon-Iron Microfibrous Material Produced by Thermal Treatment of Self-rolled Poly(4-vinyl pyridine) Films Loaded by Fe2O3 Particles

Camelia Matei Ghimbeu*, Aleksandr I. Egunov, Andrey S. Ryzhikov, Valeriy A. Luchnikov**   

  1. Institut de Science des Matériaux de Mulhouse, UMR 7361 CNRS-UHA, 15 rue Jean Starcky, 68057, Mulhouse, France
  • Received:2014-12-28 Online:2015-09-10
  • Contact: Corresponding author. Ph.D.; Tel.: +33 389608743; Fax: +33 389608799. E-mail address: camelia.ghimbeu@uha.fr (C. Matei Ghimbeu).Corresponding author. Ph.D.; Tel.: +33 389608710; Fax: +33 389608799. E-mail address: valeriy.luchnikov@uha.fr (V.A. Luchnikov).
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the French National Research Agency (No. ANR-13-IS09-0002-01). Dr. Loïc Vidal and Gautier Schrodj are acknowledged for the help with TEM and TGA measurements.

Abstract: Ensembles of freeze-dried self-rolled polymer micro-scrolls are explored as template media for producing carbon-iron based composites with fibrous morphology. Polymer fibres impregnated with furfuryl alcohol and loaded with Fe2O3 particles, were thermally treated under inert atmosphere at 700?°C and subsequently analysed by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and nitrogen adsorption. The resulting material has a micro-fibrous morphology and is basically composed of metallic Fe0 and FeO particles, i.e., more than 98 wt% of the carbon/iron-based composite mass. These particles are held together by amorphous porous carbon foam obtained by in-situ carbonization of the polymer/Fe2O3 composite with evacuation of carbon from the system via COx gases released by carbo-reduction of Fe2O3. The material has significant activity in the reaction of catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in water solutions.

Key words: Composite materials, Porous carbon, Polymers, Iron particles