Topography,structure,and formation kinetic mechanism of carbon deposited onto nickel in the temperature range from 400 to 850°C

The carbon deposition behavior on nickel particles was observed within the temperature range from 400 to 800°C in a pure methane atmosphere.The topography,properties,and molecular structure of the deposited carbon were investigated using field-emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM),temperature-programmed oxidation(TPO) technology,X-ray diffraction(XRD),and Raman spectroscopy.The deposited carbon is present in the form of a film at 400–450°C,as fibers at 500–600°C,and as particles at 650–800°C.In addition,the structure of the deposited carbon becomes more ordered at higher temperatures because both the TPO peak temperature of deposited carbon and the Raman shift of the G band increase with the increase in experimental temperature,whereas the intensity ratio between the D bands and the G band decreases.An interesting observation is that the carbon deposition rate is suppressed in the medium-temperature range(M-T range) and the corresponding kinetic mechanism changes.Correspondingly,the FWHM of the G and D1 bands in the Raman spectrum reaches a maximum and the intensities of the D2,D3,and D4 bands decrease to low limits in the M-T range.These results indicate that carbon structure parameters exhibit two different tendencies with respect to varying temperature.Both of the two group parameters change dramatically as a peak function with increasing reaction temperature within the M-T range.