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Carbon-Based Materials and Their Electrochemical Applications

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A special issue of ChemEngineering (ISSN 2305-7084).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (18 June 2020) | Viewed by 32344

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. KSV Santhanam

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Guest Editor

Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY 14623, USA
Interests: nanomaterials especially carbon nanotubes and graphene; electrochemistry; electrochemiluminescence; electrobioluminescence; coulometry; photoelectrochemistry; hydrogen technology; fuel cells
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the periodic table, carbon, as an element, stands out as important from the standpoint of our existence on this planet as the compounds in our body are carbon-based, as much as our energy storage systems. It exists in attractive allotropic forms, such as graphite, diamond and bucky balls. The use of graphite in the present technological world is growing steadily; with the discovery of graphene which is a 2D material derived from graphite, the importance of carbon has rocketed sky-high. The special issue will focus on carbon-based materials.

The scope of this special issue is to focus on all areas of carbon-based materials in electrochemical applications. Examples include: Graphitic electrodes stemming from artificial graphite to synthetic graphite, glassy carbon, vitreous carbon, single walled and multiwalled carbon nanotubes, graphene, graphene quantum dots, carbon paste and carbon composites.

With rapid advancements occurring in different areas of electrochemistry, such as batteries and dissolved redox flow batteries, sensors, bioelectrochemistry, electroanalytical chemistry, corrosion, electrocatalysis and spectroelectrochemistry, the field of electrochemistry is expanding sky high to address the needs of our society. This Special Issue will also address all related areas of carbon-based materials with specific applications to electron transfer processes that would help the growth of materials chemistry and engineering.

Prof. Dr. KSV Santhanam
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. ChemEngineering is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

graphene
graphene quantum dots
carbon nanotubes
energy storage systems and sensors

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 2716 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synthesis of a Very High Specific Surface Area Active Carbon and Its Electrical Double-Layer Capacitor Properties in Organic Electrolytes

by Zheng Yue, Hamza Dunya, Maziar Ashuri, Kamil Kucuk, Shankar Aryal, Stoichko Antonov, Bader Alabbad, Carlo U. Segre and Braja K. Mandal

ChemEngineering 2020, 4(3), 43; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemengineering4030043 - 07 Jul 2020

Cited by 36 | Viewed by 4738

Abstract

A new porous activated carbon (AC) material with very high specific surface area (3193 m² g⁻¹) was prepared by the carbonization of a colloidal silica-templated melamine–formaldehyde (MF) polymer composite followed by KOH-activation. Several electrical double-layer capacitor (EDLC) cells were fabricated using this AC as the electrode material. A number of organic solvent-based electrolyte formulations were examined to optimize the EDLC performance. Both high specific discharge capacitance of 130.5 F g⁻¹ and energy density 47.9 Wh kg⁻¹ were achieved for the initial cycling. The long-term cycling performance was also measured. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon-Based Materials and Their Electrochemical Applications)

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16 pages, 4760 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Pyrolysis Temperature on the Electrical Property and Photosensitivity of a PAN-PMMA Derived Carbon Fiber

by Tyler Xu, Antonino Nguyen, Noe Rosas, Isidro Flores, Cindy Chen, Jeremy B. Gan, Anan S. Hamdan and Yong X. Gan

ChemEngineering 2019, 3(4), 86; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemengineering3040086 - 01 Nov 2019

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 5102

Abstract

Fibers are promising materials being utilized in electronics, principally in the areas of capacitors and sensors. In this study, we examine the effect of pyrolysis temperature on the electrical conductive behavior and photosensitivity of a carbon-based fiber, which was made by electrospinning a polymer solution containing polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), and dimethylformamide (DMF). Converting the polymeric fiber into a carbon fiber was performed through the controlled pyrolysis during which oxidation, stabilization, and carbonization happened. After oxidation at an elevated temperature, the linear polymer fiber was stabilized to have a backbone structure. Then the oxidized fiber was treated in an even higher temperature range to be partially carbonized under the protection of argon gas. We utilized multiple samples of the fibers treated at various pyrolysis temperatures inside a heat furnace and examined the effects of the temperatures on the properties. The partially carbonized fiber is highly active in view of electron generation under photon energy excitation. The unique electrical and photovoltaic property are due to their semiconducting behavior. The morphology of the specimen before and after the pyrolysis was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The SEM images displayed the shrinkage of the fiber due to the pyrolysis. There are two stages of pyrolysis kinetics. Stage I is related to the oxidation of the PAN polymer. Stage II is associated with the carbonization and the activation energy of carbonization is calculated as 118 kJ/mol. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon-Based Materials and Their Electrochemical Applications)

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12 pages, 2054 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Corrosion Protection of Monel Alloy Coated with Graphene Quantum Dots Starts with a Surge

by Charles Bopp and Kalathur Santhanam

ChemEngineering 2019, 3(4), 80; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemengineering3040080 - 30 Sep 2019

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4371

Abstract

There has been an active interest in protecting metals and alloys using graphene coating. The mechanism by which corrosion protection occurs has not been well understood as the couple involved are both good electron conductors. In this work, we demonstrate that Monel alloy coated with graphene quantum dots (GQD) changes the corrosion rate with a surge (increase) caused by the galvanic coupling of the two materials. This surge results in the protective layer formation on Monel to inhibit the corrosion. X-ray fluorescence spectrum of Monel (400) alloy showed the composition of it as Ni (67.05%) and Cu (29.42%). The Tafel experiments carried out in NaCl and Na₂SO₄ electrolytes showed an initial enhancement of the corrosion rate followed by a decrease upon successive polarizations. Monel coated with graphene oxide (an insulator) shows no initial enhancement of corrosion rate; the coated samples showed a lower corrosion rate in comparison to the uncoated samples. X-ray fluorescence, Fourier Transform spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman imaging studies have been carried out for understanding this transformation. Distinct peaks due to Ni-O stretching and Ni-O-H bending vibration were observed in the FTIR spectrum. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon-Based Materials and Their Electrochemical Applications)

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10 pages, 2568 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Electrochemical Carbon Dioxide Reduction in Methanol at Cu and Cu₂O-Deposited Carbon Black Electrodes

by Naoki Uemoto, Mai Furukawa, Ikki Tateishi, Hideyuki Katsumata and Satoshi Kaneco

ChemEngineering 2019, 3(1), 15; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemengineering3010015 - 08 Feb 2019

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 6778

Abstract

The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide in methanol was investigated with Cu and Cu₂O-supported carbon black (Vulcan XC-72) nanoparticle electrodes. Herein, Cu or a Cu₂O-deposited carbon black catalyst has been synthesized by the reduction method for a Cu ion, and the drop-casting method was applied for the fabrication of a modified carbon black electrode. A catalyst ink solution was fabricated by dispersing the catalyst particles, and the catalyst ink was added onto the carbon plate. The pH of suspension was effective for controlling the Cu species for the metallic copper and the Cu₂O species deposited on the carbon black. Without the deposition of Cu, only CO and methyl formate were produced in the electrochemical CO₂ reduction, and the production of hydrocarbons could be scarcely observed. In contrast, hydrocarbons were formed by using Cu or Cu₂O-deposited carbon black electrodes. The maximum Faraday efficiency of hydrocarbons was 40.3% (26.9% of methane and 13.4% of ethylene) at −1.9 V on the Cu₂O-deposited carbon black catalyst. On the contrary, hydrogen evolution could be depressed to 34.7% under the condition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon-Based Materials and Their Electrochemical Applications)

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15 pages, 3149 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Modeling of Copper Adsorption on Mesoporous Carbon CMK-3: Response Surface Design

by Zeinab Ezzeddine, Isabelle Batonneau-Gener and Yannick Pouilloux

ChemEngineering 2018, 2(4), 49; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemengineering2040049 - 14 Oct 2018

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2955

Abstract

CMK-3 mesoporous carbon was nanocast from SBA-15 silica. The obtained carbon was characterized by nitrogen sorption isotherms, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The batch adsorption tests were done at constant pH taking into account the initial metal ion concentration, adsorbent mass and temperature. A statistical study using a response surface design method was done to develop a mathematical model to predict copper adsorption on CMK-3 as a function of the mentioned experimental factors. It was found that all these parameters are significant, and copper concentration has the greatest effect on adsorption among them. Moreover, the obtained model proved to be adequate in predicting copper adsorption on CMK-3 and its performance under different experimental conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon-Based Materials and Their Electrochemical Applications)

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Review

Jump to: Research

30 pages, 7671 KiB

Open AccessReview

Greenhouse Gas Sensors Fabricated with New Materials for Climatic Usage: A Review

by Kalathur S. V. Santhanam and Nuzhet Nihaar Nasir Ahamed

ChemEngineering 2018, 2(3), 38; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemengineering2030038 - 24 Aug 2018

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 7579

Abstract

With the increasing utilization of fossil fuels in today’s technological world, the atmosphere’s concentration of greenhouse gases is increasing and needs to be controlled. In order to achieve this goal, it is imperative to have sensors that can provide data on the greenhouse gases in the environment. The recent literature contains a few publications that detail the use of new methods and materials for sensing these gases. The first part of this review is focused on the possible effects of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and the second part surveys the developments of sensors for greenhouse gases with coverage on carbon nano-materials and composites directed towards sensing gases like CO₂, CH₄, and NO_x. With carbon dioxide measurements, due consideration is given to the dissolved carbon dioxide gas in water (moisture). The density functional calculations project that Pd-doped single-walled carbon nanotubes are ideal for the development of NO_x sensors. The current trend is to make sensors using 3D printing or inkjet printing in order to allow for the achievement of ppb levels of sensitivity that have not been realized before. This review is to elaborate on the need for the development of greenhouse gas sensors for climatic usage by using selected examples. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon-Based Materials and Their Electrochemical Applications)

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