Carbon Composites for Catalysis, Energy, Environmental and Sensing Advanced Applications

A special issue of Journal of Composites Science (ISSN 2504-477X). This special issue belongs to the section "Carbon Composites".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2021) | Viewed by 3174

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Engineering, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
Interests: heterogeneous catalysis; catalytic conversion of renewable biomass for the production of bulk chemicals; development of innovative catalytic materials for sensing applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Carbon-based materials, such as nanostructured carbon (e.g., activated carbons (ACs), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene nanosheets (GNS), and ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs), have great versatility and the potential to be chemically combined with other carbon materials with a range of different elements to form strong covalent bonds in carbon composite systems. As a result, they exhibit excellent characteristics, such as high strength, high density, and high hardness. Indeed, during the last few decades, they have attracted the attention of scientists in various fields of application, such as in heterogeneous catalysis, energy production, and environmental remediation, as well as in gas sensors, batteries, optoelectronic devices, and biomedical and agricultural applications. Considering the several possible claims of carbon-based materials, a thorough study of their features, including their design, synthesis, and characterization, is significant to understanding the basis of certain properties presented by these materials and to determine their best field of application. This Special Issue on "Carbon Composites for Catalysis, Energy, Environmental, and Advanced Sensing Applications” will attempt to cover the most recent advances in carbon composite materials, concerning not only synthesis and characterization, but also their functional and smart properties to be applied in scaling factors, giving great emphasis to materials that have been proven to have promise for various applications aimed at solving current environmental and energy problems, such as CO2 reduction, battery production, clean energy from oxygen reduction reactions, degradation of organic pollutants, and sensor development. The articles presented in this Special Issue will cover various topics, ranging from different techniques for synthesis and morphological modification to the preparation of catalytic systems and their applications in several areas of interest, as well as energy, environmental, and advanced sensing applications. Therefore, this Special Issue welcomes contributions from all researchers working on carbon composite materials, as well as on their characterization, properties, and applications.

The Special Issue will cover, but will not be limited to, the following topics:

  • Advanced synthesis;
  • Carbon–carbon composites;
  • Characterizations;
  • Novel multifunctional materials;
  • Energy harvesting/storage devices;
  • Sensors;
  • Carbon fibers;
  • New application in heterogeneous catalysis by supported carbon nanoparticles;
  • Electrochemical and optical properties of carbon composites.

It is my pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript for this Special Issue. Full papers, communications, and reviews are welcome.

Prof. Claudia Espro
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. Journal of Composites Science is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 1800 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

  • Advanced synthesis
  • Carbon–carbon composites
  • Characterizations
  • Novel multifunctional materials
  • Energy harvesting/storage devices
  • Sensors
  • Carbon fibers
  • New application in heterogeneous catalysis by supported carbon nanoparticles
  • Electrochemical and optical properties of carbon composites

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

19 pages, 3760 KiB  
Article
Scalable Carbon Nanotube/Platinum Nanoparticle Composite Inks from Salt Templates for Oxygen Reduction Reaction Electrocatalysis for PEM Fuel Cells
by Enoch A. Nagelli, F. John Burpo, Delaney A. Marbach, Aaron N. Romero, Daniel J. Rabbia, Hugh W. Mahr, Mark H. Jaskot, Asia N. Murray and Deryn D. Chu
J. Compos. Sci. 2020, 4(4), 160; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs4040160 - 26 Oct 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2821
Abstract
Platinum nanoparticles supported on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were synthesized by the chemical reduction of Magnus’s salt templates formed by the electrostatic stacking of oppositely charged platinum coordinated ions. The Magnus’s salt templated synthesis of platinum macrotubes, previously demonstrated, results in sidewalls made [...] Read more.
Platinum nanoparticles supported on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were synthesized by the chemical reduction of Magnus’s salt templates formed by the electrostatic stacking of oppositely charged platinum coordinated ions. The Magnus’s salt templated synthesis of platinum macrotubes, previously demonstrated, results in sidewalls made up of individual textured nanoparticles 100 nm in diameter and comprised of 5 nm diameter fibrils. Here we demonstrate a new platform method that utilizes the individual nanoparticles that make up the platinum macrotubes formed from salt templates and subsequently disperse them through a CNT network by ultrasonication to develop an electrocatalyst nanocomposite for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) critical for the development of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell applications. The structural morphology and composition of the nanocomposite catalysts was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), and Raman spectroscopy to confirm the presence of platinum nanoparticles throughout the CNT network of the nanocomposite. The electrocatalytic activity of the nanocomposite inks was verified with cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) for ORR. Furthermore, this all aqueous-based and scalable approach for the synthesis and dispersion of platinum nanoparticles with CNTs can lead to a new formulation process for the production of electrocatalytic nanocomposite inks for PEM fuel cells using the nanoparticles that form within salt templates after chemical reduction. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop