Guang Mu

Porous Graphitic Carbon Nanosheets Derived from Cornstalk Biomass for Advanced Supercapacitors

Porous graphitic carbon nanosheets (PGCS) are synthesized by an in situ self-generating template strategy based on the carburized effect of iron with cornstalks. Cornstalks firstly coordinate with [Fe(CN)(6)](4-) ions to form the cornstalk-[Fe(CN)(6)](4-) precursor. After carbonization and removal of the catalyst, PGCS are obtained. Series experiments indicate that PGCS can only be formed when using an iron-based catalyst that can generate a carburized phase during the pyrolytic process. The unique structures of PGCS exhibit excellent capacitive performance. The PGCS-1-1100 sample (synthesized from 0.1 M [Fe(CN)(6)](4-) with a carbonization temperature of 1100 °C), which shows excellent electrochemical capacitance (up to 213 F g(-1) at 1 A g(-1)), cycling stability, and rate performance in 6 M KOH electrolyte. In the two-electrode symmetric supercapacitors, the maximum energy densities that can be achieved are as high as 9.4 and 61.3 Wh kg(-1) in aqueous and organic electrolytes, respectively. Moreover, high energy densities of 8.3 and 40.6 Wh kg(-1) are achieved at the high power density of 10.5 kW kg(-1) in aqueous and organic electrolytes, respectively. This strategy holds great promise for preparing PGCS from natural resources, including cornstalks, as advanced electrodes in supercapacitors.

Magnetically separable porous graphitic carbon with large surface area as excellent adsorbents for metal ions and dye

Magnetic porous graphitic carbon (MPGC) materials were fabricated through a facile “Solution-Solid” route and their application as excellent adsorbents for metal ions and dye were also demonstrated. In the preparation, glucose, nickel nitrate and TEOS were selected as carbon resource, catalyst precursor and porogent, respectively. In the first step, the solution contained glucose, Ni2+ and TEOS was treated at low temperature to impel polymerization of glucose, coordination of Ni2+ with glucose unit and hydrolysis of TEOS simultaneous, leading to the formation of precursor (Solution process). After heating the precursors under N2 atmosphere, the Ni-SiO2/carbon composites were formed (Solid process). Followed soaking with NaOH to remove SiO2 porogent, the corresponding MPGC materials with magnetic nickel particles embedded in the graphitic carbon framework were obtained. The obtained MPGC materials show good chemical stability due to their high graphitic degree. It is noteworthy that they have exceptionally large surface areas up to 918 m2 g−1. The adsorption performance of MPGC are evaluated by using metal ions (Cd2+, Cu2+, Ag+, Au3+) and dye (Rhodamine B, RhB) in aqueous solutions as the target. The results indicate that MPGC materials exhibit excellent adsorption capacities for metal ions (7.79 mg g−1 for copper for example), which are superior to those of activated carbons and carbon nanotubes. In addition, the materials have also exhibited good ability for adsorption of dye molecular. Notably, MPGC materials could be easily removed for reuse by an external magnet, facilitating separation and reuse of those materials as adsorbents. The adsorption kinetics for these metal ions and dye on MPGC-based adsorbents were well fitted to a pseudo-second order model.

A novel soft template strategy to fabricate mesoporous carbon/graphene composites as high-performance supercapacitor electrodes

A novel soft template method is developed to synthesize a mesoporous carbon/graphene (MCG) composite. The resulting MCG composite exhibits a outstanding capacitance as high as 242 F g−1 in 6 M KOH electrolyte at the current density of 0.5 A g−1, which is much higher than mesoporous carbon, graphene and a sample made by mechanical mixing of mesoporous carbon with graphene. A series of experimental results show that the thickness, BET surface area and carbonized temperatures seriously affect the structure and energy storage performance of the as-prepared MCG composite. Remarkably, the synthesized MCG composite displays good cyclic stability, and the final capacitance was up to 105% compared to the initial capacitance after 2000 cycles of the composite. The mesoporous carbon in the MCG composite is beneficial to the accessibility and rapid diffusion of the electrolyte, and the graphene in MCG can facilitate the transport of electrons during the processes of charging and discharging owing to its high conductivity, which leads to an excellent energy storage performance.

Low-Pt Loaded on a Vanadium Nitride/Graphitic Carbon Composite as an Efficient Electrocatalyst for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

The high cost of platinum electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) has hindered the commercialization of fuel cells. An effective support can reduce the usage of Pt and improve the reactivity of Pt through synergistic effects. Herein, the vanadium nitride/graphitic carbon (VN/GC) nanocomposites, which act as an enhanced carrier of Pt nanoparticles (NPs) towards ORR, have been synthesized for the first time. In the synthesis, the VN/GC composite could be obtained by introducing VO3 (-) and [Fe(CN)6 ](4-) ions into the polyacrylic weak-acid anion-exchanged resin (PWAR) through an in-situ anion-exchanged route, followed by carbonization and a subsequent nitridation process. After loading only 10 % Pt NPs, the resulting Pt-VN/GC catalyst demonstrates a more positive onset potential (1.01 V), higher mass activity (137.2 mA mg(-1) ), and better cyclic stability (99 % electrochemical active surface area (ECSA) retention after 2000 cycles) towards ORR than the commercial 20 % Pt/C. Importantly, the Pt-VN/GC catalyst mainly exhibits a 4 e(-) -transfer mechanism and a low yield of peroxide species, suggesting its potential application as a low-cost and highly efficient ORR catalyst in fuel cells.

In Situ Intercalating Expandable Graphite for Mesoporous Carbon/Graphite Nanosheet Composites as High-Performance Supercapacitor Electrodes

Mesoporous-carbon-coated graphite nanosheet (GNS@MC) composites have been synthesized by the intercalation of resol prepolymer into the interlayers of expandable graphite (EG) under vacuum-assisted conditions, followed by the exfoliation of EG through in situ polymerization, the growth of resol under hydrothermal conditions, and carbonization under Ar. The GNS@MC composites exhibit enhanced capacitive performance compared to mesoporous carbon (MC), microwaved EG after thermal treatment (T-EG), and the physical mixture of MC and T-EG (MC+T-EG). In particular, the GNS@MC-35-800 composite carbonized at 800 °C, which has a graphite-nanosheet content of 35 % and a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area (S(BET) ) of 432.3 m(2)  g(-1) , exhibits the highest capacitance of 203 F g(-1) at 1 A g(-1) in 6 M KOH electrolyte. Furthermore, the GNS@MC-35-800 composite exhibits a good cyclic stability with 95 % capacitance retention and a high columbic efficiency of 99 % after 5000 cycles. The energy density of the symmetric supercapacitor GNS@MC-35-800/GNS@MC-35-800 achieved was as high as 11.5 Wh kg(-1) at a high power density of 10 kW kg(-1) . This good performance is attributable to the GNSs in the GNS@MC composite facilitating electron transport owing to its excellent conductivity; moreover, the MC in GNS@MC favors the rapid diffusion of ions by providing low-resistance pathways. The GNS@MC composite may find application in high-performance energy storage and conversion devices.