Controlled synthesis of carbon nanofibers over electrolessly plated metal foam catalysts on polyurethane for fuel cell applications

Synthesis of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) with different morphologies has attracted great attentions due to their broad energy applications. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method is often employed to produce CNFs, and the morphology of the resulting CNFs is largely dependent on the catalysts used in this process. In this work, 3-D ordered polyurethane foam has been electrolessly plated with a layer of nickel catalysts, which are then used to catalytically decompose acetylene to yield CNFs via CVD. Catalysts with different compositions (nickel, cobalt, copper or their alloys) can be made through changes in the electroless plating baths and then used to synthesize CNFs with different morphologies. The as-prepared CNFs synthesized in this work can be used directly as supports for fuel cell electrocatalysts. The method reported in this work offers a general protocol to synthesize a wide variety of carbon filaments with tailored compositions and properties.