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Journal of Inorganic Materials

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0 20250236

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15541/jim20250236

Morphology Control of Carbon Products from Catalytic Pyrolysis of Methane with Different Concentrations in Molten Salt

  • TANG Yifan ,
  • HUANG Zeai ,
  • ZHANG Ruiyang ,
  • ZHAN Junjie ,
  • CHEN Guoxing ,
  • YANG Mingkai ,
  • LIU Tong ,
  • CHEN Hongji ,
  • ZHOU Ying
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  • 1. School of New Energy and Materials, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, China;
    2. State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, China;
    3. Department of Materials and Earth Sciences, Technical University Darmstadt, Darmstadt 64287, Germany
TANG yifan (2001-), female, Master candidate. E-mail: 15309939516@139.com
HUANG zeai, associate professor. E-mail:zeai.huang@swpu.edu.cn; ZHOU Ying, professor. E-mail: yzhou@swpu.edu.cn

Received date: 2025-06-04

  Revised date: 2025-08-26

  Online published: 2025-09-11

Supported by

National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (52325401)；“Jiebang Guashuai”(Open Challenge and Leadership)Project of Sichuan Science and Technology Program(2023YFG0375)

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Abstract

Methane (CH4), as both a greenhouse gas and a crucial energy source, plays an important role in achieving China's carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. The significant concentration differences of CH4 from various sources influence the selection of relevant conversion technologies. However, little research has addressed the impact of CH4 concentration variation on catalytic performance, and studies focusing on the catalytic pyrolysis of methane for carbon material production are especially scarce. In this work, molten salt catalytic pyrolysis was employed as the core strategy to systematically investigate the catalytic decomposition behavior of CH4 with varying concentrations (20%-100%) and the morphology control mechanisms of carbon products in a CuCl2-NaCl molten salt system. The results revealed that the formation of graphene films was attributed to the two-dimensional assembly of carbon atoms on bubble surfaces at high CH4 concentrations, followed by subsequent film growth. High CH4 concentration in the CuCl2-NaCl system favored the formation of well-ordered graphene structures, while low concentrations primarily produced fragmented carbon. Furthermore, various molten salt systems yielded different carbon morphologies, including graphite sheets, short rod-like carbon nanotubes, and film-like carbon. Comprehensive characterizations demonstrated that the CH4 concentration determined both the nucleation rate and the growth mode of carbon products. This study elucidates the morphology control mechanisms of carbon products driven by the CH4 concentration gradient in molten salt systems, providing a theoretical basis for the environmentally friendly synthesis of high-value-added carbon materials and the development of low-carbon technologies.

Key words： CH4 pyrolysis; molten medium; concentration gradient; CuCl2-NaCl; morphology control

Cite this article

TANG Yifan , HUANG Zeai , ZHANG Ruiyang , ZHAN Junjie , CHEN Guoxing , YANG Mingkai , LIU Tong , CHEN Hongji , ZHOU Ying . Morphology Control of Carbon Products from Catalytic Pyrolysis of Methane with Different Concentrations in Molten Salt[J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, 0 : 20250236 . DOI: 10.15541/jim20250236

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