A Novel Method for Preparation of Carbon Coating Iron Nanoparticles

A novel and practical route for preparing carbon coating metal nanomaterials using polyvinyl alcohol as the starting materials was presented. Carbon coating iron nanoparticles can be effectively synthesized by carbonizing polyvinyl alcohol using Fe as catalyst in hydrogen flow. The carbohydrate was carbonized in a controllable way that leads to a large amount of carbon coating iron nanoparticles. Transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and thermogravimetric analysis (TG) were employed to characterizing nanomaterials. The growth mechanism of carbon coating iron nanoparticles is briefly discussed in term of composition and structure of precursor.