The preparation and analysis of ceramic fibers with deposited catalytic particles by plasma technology

In this work, the ceramic micro- and nanofibers were formed using atmospheric pressure thermal plasma reactor. The catalytic (copper, titanium) particles and their mixtures were deposited on the surface of zeolite fibers during their formation. The prepared catalytic fibers were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), BET (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller) surface area measurements and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The SEM analysis showed that the obtained fiber diameters are in the range from 10 μm to few hundred nanometers. Some of the catalytic particles were deposited without changes and some were melted or burst. The XRD analysis showed that the zeolite fiber without the catalytic particles is amorphous as there are no crystal phase peaks. After the deposition of catalytic particles the peaks of the catalytic metals and their oxides appear. The BET method showed that the surface area of the catalytic fiber is 13-18 m2/g. The EDS analysis showed that the quantity of catalytic particles in the catalytic fiber is 7-18 %.