Carbon Functionalization: From Synthesis to Applications

A special issue of C (ISSN 2311-5629). This special issue belongs to the section "Carbon Materials and Carbon Allotropes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2025 | Viewed by 1634

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institut de Science des Matériaux de Mulhouse (IS2M), CNRS UMR 7361 UHA, 15 Rue Jean Starcky, 68057 Mulhouse, France
Interests: hybrid carbon materials; confinement of metal-based NPs in carbon; carbon synthesis and modification (mesoporous carbon, activated carbon, hard carbon, graphitic carbon); hard and soft-templated carbon; biosourced derived carbon; carbon surface chemistry and reactivity modification; carbon-based materials for gas and energy storage (supercapacitors and batteries); carbon for air and water cleaning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CNRS, CEMHTI UPR3079, Université Orléans, 45071 Orléans, France
Interests: porous carbon; carbon based composites; energy storage; supercapacitors; electrode/electrolyte interface characterisation; in situ/operando

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Carbon material has undeniable properties that can be fine-tuned to satisfy several applications. The ability to control morphology, porous texture, structure, and surface chemistry is playing a pivotal role in improving the performance of energy storage devices such as batteries and supercapacitors for water and air remediation, gas storage, and catalysis. In all of these applications, the carbon is in contact with either an electrolyte, a pollutant, or a gas. Its surface functionalities strongly dictate the interactions with these media and impact the performance. Inherently, the carbon’s surface is decorated with O-functional groups coming from the precursors, but other heteroatoms might naturally be found in carbon, such as N, S, or P. Functionalisation methods to enhance or modulate these functionalities are widely employed in order to improve the performance or to anchor other species (metal, metal oxides, etc.). The characterisation of these surface functionalities, including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), IR spectroscopy, temperature-programmed desorption coupled with mass spectrometry (TPD-MS), Boehm titration, and wettability, enables one to determine their nature and amounts, as well as their impact on the performance.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to gather original contributions on innovative methods of carbon surface functionalisation, grafting, and doping of carbon materials (activated carbon, nanoporous carbon, graphene, carbon dots, hard carbon, graphite, etc.). We welcome papers describing the fine characterisation of carbon surface chemistry along with its impact on capacitance in supercapacitors, efficiency and capacity in batteries, the adsorption capacity of molecules, the conversion yield in catalysis, detection in sensors, biocompatibility, etc.

Dr. Camélia Matei Ghimbeu
Dr. Encarnación Raymundo-Piñero
Guest Editors

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. C is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly 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

  • surface functionalization
  • functional groups
  • heteroelement doping
  • supercapacitors
  • batteries
  • water remediation
  • gas storage
  • catalysis
  • sensors
  • medicine

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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

Research

20 pages, 5317 KiB  
Article
Cocoa Pod Husk Carbon Family for Biogas Upgrading: Preliminary Assessment Using the Approximate Adsorption Performance Indicator
by Khaled Abou Alfa, Diana C. Meza-Sepulveda, Cyril Vaulot, Jean-Marc Le Meins, Camelia Matei Ghimbeu, Louise Tonini, Janneth A. Cubillos, Laurent Moynault, Vincent Platel, Diego Paredes and Cecile Hort
C 2024, 10(4), 100; https://doi.org/10.3390/c10040100 - 29 Nov 2024
Viewed by 673
Abstract
The preliminary selection of adsorbents for the separation of a gas mixture based on pure gas adsorption remains a critical challenge; thus, an approximate adsorption performance indicator (AAPI) was proposed for the initial evaluation of the adsorbents to separate the biogas main constituents [...] Read more.
The preliminary selection of adsorbents for the separation of a gas mixture based on pure gas adsorption remains a critical challenge; thus, an approximate adsorption performance indicator (AAPI) was proposed for the initial evaluation of the adsorbents to separate the biogas main constituents (carbon dioxide/methane (CO2/CH4)) by studying their pure gas adsorption. Three samples derived from cocoa pod husk (CPH), namely Cabosse-500 (pyrolyzed at 500 °C), Cabosse-700 (pyrolyzed at 700 °C), and Cabosse-A-700 (activated with CO2 at 700 °C), were synthesized, characterized, and evaluated for the pure gases adsorption. This study presents an AAPI evaluation, which takes into account adsorption capacity, approximate selectivity, and heat of adsorption. Adsorption isotherms indicate the ability of the CPH family to selectively capture CO2 over CH4, as they have a high approximate selectivity (>1) thanks to their physical properties. Changing the pyrolysis temperature, activation methods, and varying the pressure can significantly change the choice of the most effective adsorbent; Cabosse-A-700 showed better performance than the other two in the low and high pressure range owing to its presence of micropores and mesopores, which enhances the CO2 adsorption and therefore the AAPI. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Functionalization: From Synthesis to Applications)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

12 pages, 2385 KiB  
Article
Effect of Synthesis Conditions on the Structure and Electrochemical Properties of Vertically Aligned Graphene/Carbon Nanofiber Hybrids
by Mahnoosh Khosravifar, Kinshuk Dasgupta and Vesselin Shanov
C 2024, 10(4), 97; https://doi.org/10.3390/c10040097 - 24 Nov 2024
Viewed by 360
Abstract
In recent years, significant efforts have been dedicated to understanding the growth mechanisms behind the synthesis of vertically aligned nanocarbon structures using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). This study explores how varying synthesis conditions, specifically hydrocarbon flow rate, hydrocarbon type, and plasma power,—affect [...] Read more.
In recent years, significant efforts have been dedicated to understanding the growth mechanisms behind the synthesis of vertically aligned nanocarbon structures using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). This study explores how varying synthesis conditions, specifically hydrocarbon flow rate, hydrocarbon type, and plasma power,—affect the microstructure, properties, and electrochemical performance of nitrogen-doped vertically aligned graphene (NVG) and nitrogen-doped vertically aligned carbon nanofibers (NVCNFs) hybrids. It was observed that adjustments in these synthesis parameters led to noticeable changes in the microstructure, with particularly significant alterations when changing the hydrocarbon precursor from acetylene to methane. The electrochemical investigation revealed that the sample synthesized at higher plasma power exhibited enhanced electron transfer kinetics, likely due to the higher density of open edges and nitrogen doping level. This study contributes to better understanding the PECVD process for fabricating nanocarbon materials, particularly for sensor applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Functionalization: From Synthesis to Applications)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop