Catalytic materials prepared by chemical vapor deposition

In the 1980's appeared the first several scientific papers dealing with chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of nanostructured catalytic materials. Since then, the tremendous increase in the number of related publications indicates the significant importance of CVD for the preparation of catalysts. CVD has the capability to generate various types of catalytically attractive nano-scale structures by modifying the surface properties of massive or even nano-divided substrates. Relatively new CVD processes such as catalytic CVD, fluidized-bed CVD, rotary CVD, two-step CVD and large spot laser CVD allow the formation of nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanofibers, nanocomposites and porous or oriented films. Intensive research is being performed on the production of CNTs and the preparation of supported catalysts by CVD. This paper provides an overview of the relatively new CVD processes involved in the preparation of catalytic materials and some representative examples reported in the open literature.