The Use of Natural Materials in Nanocarbon Synthesis

Nanomaterials are shifting from laboratory scale preparation to industrial production. The cost of energy and starting materials (feed stock, catalyst and support) consumed or used in the mass production of nanomaterials become to an issue that will limit or promote the broad application of nanomaterials. Natural materials such as sand, rock and lava contain small or trace amounts of metals or metal oxides in nanosized form and have been recently used as catalysts for the production of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), providing an interesting way to lower the production cost of CNTs, while the sustainability of the whole production process still needs to be explored. Layered minerals (for instance clay) are used to produce CNT-clay hybrid that can be further used to synthesize polymer-CNT-Clay nanocomposites. Natural materials and some by-products of industrial production have been explored as carbon source for nanocarbon synthesis. This minireview highlights some recent promising activities and their prospects for the use of natural materials in the synthesis of CNTs, carbon nanofibers (CNFs) and nanocomposite, and their applications in catalysis and in materials science