The Role of Carbon Nanotubes in Synthesis of TaC Nanoparticles by Gas - Solid Reaction

In this study, Tantalum carbide (TaC) nanoparticles was synthesized through the gas - solid reaction by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method using carbon nanotubes as the carbon source. The structure of samples were studied by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Field Emission-Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Raman Spectroscopy. The thermal behavior of the nanoparticles were examined by TG-DTA thermal analysis. Studies indicated that during the reaction, TaC nanoparticles was formed with quasi-spherical morphology and grain size range of 30-40nm. Also, using phase and thermal analysis, the formation mechanism of Tantalum carbide nanoparticles were discussed with regarding to the role of carbon nanotubes.