Abstract
Carbon aerogels find application in many fields. In most of the applications, they are used as powders and thus need to be pulverized. However, the pulverization could induce various changes in the microstructure of carbon aerogels. The extent of changes depends not only on the dominant forces of used technique, but also on the mechanical and structural properties of initial monolithic samples. In the present work, we discuss the influence of grinding, milling in shaker cryo-mill, and planetary ball mill on stiff, ductile and flexible carbon aerogels. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy images, gas sorption techniques, wide-angle X-ray scattering, and Raman spectroscopy show a strong dependency of the introduced energy amount while pulverization on the structure modification. Results show that stiff carbon aerogels do not undergo noticeable changes. In contrast, ductile carbon aerogels are very sensitive to friction forces. Soft and flexible carbon aerogels undergo drastic changes in the microstructure.
Highlights
Carbon aerogels are well-known open porous solid materials, first introduced by Richard Pekala in 1989 [1]
Carbon aerogels are derived by means of the pyrolysis of organic precursors such as resorcinol–formaldehyde, melamine–formaldehyde [2], phenolic-furfural mixture [3], and other organic precursors
First the microscopy images of monolithic and powdered samples are discussed, and the changes in skeletal density and specific surface area based on gas sorption measurements
Summary
Carbon aerogels are well-known open porous solid materials, first introduced by Richard Pekala in 1989 [1]. Carbon aerogels are derived by means of the pyrolysis of organic precursors such as resorcinol–formaldehyde, melamine–formaldehyde [2], phenolic-furfural mixture [3], and other organic precursors. Due to their high inner surface area up to 2000–2500 m2g-1, high pore volume of about. 3–5 cm3g-1 [4], carbon aerogels have a broad application field. Their field of electrical application extends from supercapacitors [5] to rechargeable lithium-based batteries [6]. Carbon aerogels were successfully used in foundry applications, for the adsorption of foundry gases [8]
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have