The catalytic utilization of chlorine-organic wastes remains of extreme importance from an ecological point of view. Depending on the molecular structure of the chlorine-substituted hydrocarbon (presence of unsaturated bonds, intermolecular chlorine-to-hydrogen ratio), the features of its catalytic decomposition can be significantly different. Often, 1,2-dichloroethane is used as a model substrate. In the present work, the catalytic decomposition of trichloroethylene (C2HCl3) over microdispersed 100Ni and 96Ni-4W with the formation of carbon nanofibers (CNF) was studied. Catalysts were obtained by a co-precipitation of complex salts followed by reductive thermolysis. The disintegration of the initial bulk alloy driven by its interaction with the reaction mixture C2HCl3/H2/Ar entails the formation of submicron active particles. It has been established that the optimal activity of the pristine Ni catalyst and the 96Ni-4W alloy is provided in temperature ranges of 500-650 °C and 475-725 °C, respectively. The maximum yield of CNF for 2 h of reaction was 63 g/gcat for 100Ni and 112 g/gcat for 96Ni-4W catalyst. Longevity tests showed that nickel undergoes fast deactivation (after 3 h), whereas the 96Ni-4W catalyst remains active for 7 h of interaction. The effects of the catalyst's composition and the reaction temperature upon the structural and morphological characteristics of synthesized carbon nanofibers were investigated by X-ray diffraction analysis, Raman spectroscopy, and electron microscopies. The initial stages of the carbon erosion process were precisely examined by transmission electron microscopy coupled with elemental mapping. The segmented structure of CNF was found to be prevailing in a range of 500-650 °C. The textural parameters of carbon product (SBET and Vpore) were shown to reach maximum values (374 m2/g and 0.71 cm3/g, respectively) at the reaction temperature of 550 °C.
Keywords: carbon erosion; carbon nanofibers; carbon nanomaterials; nickel; trichloroethylene; tungsten.