Porous Carbon Nanomaterials Research Articles

Detection of Tert-Butylhydroquinone in Edible Oils Using an Electrochemical Sensor Based on a Nickel-Aluminum Layered Double Hydroxide@Carbon Spheres-Derived Carbon Composite

Phenolic antioxidants such as tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) can prolong the shelf life of edible oils by delaying the oxidation process. The excessive use of TBHQ can damage food quality and public health, so it is necessary to develop an efficient TBHQ detection technique. In this work, nickel-aluminum double hydroxide (NiAl-LDH) was grown on glucose carbon spheres (GC), which formed porous carbon nanomaterials (named NiAl-LDH@GC-800) after pyrolysis at 800 °C. The successful synthesis of the material was verified by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The obtained NiAl-LDH@GC-800 was dopped onto a glass carbon electrode to prepare an electrochemical sensor for TBHQ. The synergistic effect of porous carbon and Ni metal reduced from NiAl-LDH by high-temperature calcination accelerated the electron transfer rate and improved the sensitivity of the sensor. The prepared sensor showed a low limit of detection (LOD) of 8.2 nM, a high sensitivity (4.2 A·M−1), and a good linear range (20~300 µM) in detecting TBHQ. The sensor was also successfully used for TBHQ detection in edible oils, including chili oil, peanut oil, and rapeseed oil.

Hierarchical Magnetic Carbon Nanoflowers for Ultra-Efficient Electromagnetic Wave Absorption.

Porous carbon nanomaterials are widely applied in the electromagnetic wave absorption (EMWA) field. Among them, an emerging flower-like carbon nanomaterial, termed carbon nanoflowers (CNFs), has attracted tremendous research attention due to their unique hierarchical flower-like structure. However, the design of flower-like carbon nanomaterials with different magnetic cores for EMWA has rarely been reported. Herein, a general template method is proposed to achieve a set of high-quality magnetic CNFs, namely Co@Void@CNFs, CoNi@CNFs, and Ni@CNFs. The prepared magnetic CNFs have highly accessible surface area and internal space, rich heteroatom content, multi-scale pore system, and uniform and highly dispersed magnetic nanoparticles, as a result, deliver superior EMWA performance. Specifically, when the thickness is 2.6mm, the Co@Void@CNFs exhibit a maximum refection loss (RLmax) of -56.6dB and an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) from 8.0 to 12.1GHz covering the whole X band. The CoNi@CNFs have an RLmax of up to -57.6dB and a wide EAB of 5.6GHz at just 1.9mm. For the Ni@CNFs, possess an ultra-broad EAB of 6.1GHz, covering the entire Ku band at 2.0mm. Overall, the hierarchical magnetic carbon nanoflowers proposed here offer new insights toward realizing multifunctional integrated carbon nanomaterials for EMWA.

Highly porous layered carbon nanocomposites from the self-assembly of a poly(amic acid) for efficient oxygen reduction reaction catalysis

Porous layered carbon nanomaterials play important role in the efficient loading of electroactive substances for high performance energy conversion techniques. Herein, an intramolecular cyclization induced self-assembly (ICISA) strategy is proposed to prepare three-dimensional highly porous layered carbon nanostructures (LCs) for efficient loading of various transition metal nanoparticles for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysis. The amphiphilic alternating copolymer poly(amic acid) (PAA) is synthesized by the stepwise polymerization of hydrazine hydrate and pyromellitic dianhydride. Upon heating above 160 °C, the intramolecular cyclization reaction occurs, leading to the formation of rigid, crystalline and non-soluble polyimide segments in the backbone, which induces the self-assembly of the polymer to form dumbbell-shaped assemblies with a high solid content of 15%. After pyrolysis in a nitrogen atmosphere, LCs are obtained. Cobalt (Co), iron (Fe) and FeCo nanoparticles can be efficiently loaded, noted as Co@LCs, Fe@LCs and FeCo@LCs, respectively. The ORR catalytic performance of the catalysts is evaluated to give half wave potentials of 0.791, 0.787 and 0.812 V, and limit current densities of 4.92, 4.73 and 4.71 mA cm−2 for Co@LCs, Fe@LCs and FeCo@LCs, respectively. Overall, we propose an ICISA strategy to facilely prepare three-dimensional carbon nanomaterials with highly porous layered structure for efficient ORR catalysis.

Laser-Scribed Graphene for Human Health Monitoring: From Biophysical Sensing to Biochemical Sensing.

Laser-scribed graphene (LSG), a classic three-dimensional porous carbon nanomaterial, is directly fabricated by laser irradiation of substrate materials. Benefiting from its excellent electrical and mechanical properties, along with flexible and simple preparation process, LSG has played a significant role in the field of flexible sensors. This review provides an overview of the critical factors in fabrication, and methods for enhancing the functionality of LSG. It also highlights progress and trends in LSG-based sensors for monitoring physiological indicators, with an emphasis on device fabrication, signal transduction, and sensing characteristics. Finally, we offer insights into the current challenges and future prospects of LSG-based sensors for health monitoring and disease diagnosis.

Highly selective removal of U(VI) from aqueous solutions by porous nanomaterials

AbstractWith the fast development of nuclear energy peaceful utilization, large amounts of U(VI) are not only required to be extracted from solutions for sustainable nuclear fuel supply but also inevitably released into the environment to result in pollution, which is hazardous to human health. Thereby, the selective extraction of U(VI) from aqueous solutions is crucial to U(VI) pollution treatment and also to nuclear industry sustainable development. In this minireview, we summarized the selective extraction of U(VI) from solutions by porous nanomaterials (i.e., porous carbon nanomaterials, covalent organic frameworks, metal organic frameworks, and other nanomaterials) using different techniques, that is, sorption, electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, and other strategies. The efficient high extraction ability is dependent on the properties of porous nanomaterials and the used techniques. The high surface areas, abundant active sites, and functional groups are efficient for the high sorption of U(VI), but the special functional groups such as amidoxime groups are more critical for high selective extraction. The electrocatalytic extraction is related to the active sites, especially the single atom sites, of the porous nanomaterials as electrode. The special functional groups, bandgap, electron transfer pathway and electron donor–acceptor structures of photocatalysts contribute the high photocatalytic extraction of U(VI). The interaction mechanisms are discussed from spectroscopic analysis and computational simulation at molecular level. In the end, the challenges and prospectives for the efficient extraction of U(VI) are described.

Synthesis of Porous Carbon Nanomaterials from Vietnamese Coal: Fabrication and Energy Storage Investigations

The choice of precursor and simple synthesis techniques have decisive roles in the viable production and commercialization of carbon products. The intense demand for developing high-purity carbon nanomaterials through inexpensive techniques has promoted the usage of fossil derivatives as a feasible source of carbon. In this study, Vietnamese-coal-derived porous carbon (PC) was used to fabricate coal-derived porous carbon nanomaterials (CDPCs) using the modified Hummers method. The resulting porous carbon nanomaterials achieved a nanoscale structure with an average pore size ranging from 3 to 10 nm. The findings indicate that CDPC exhibits well-developed micropores and mesopores. The presence of macropores and mesopores not only facilitates the complete immersion of the material in the electrolyte but also effectively shortens the ion diffusion pathways. CDPC boasts a high carbon content, constituting 80.88% by weight. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) Nyquist plot of electrodes made from CDPC showed good conductivity value with low charge-transfer resistance. This electrode worked well and stably with capacitance retention of 74.7% after 1000 cycles. The CDPC specific capacitance reached 236 F/g under a current density of 0.1 A using the constant current discharge method and then decreased as the current density increased. Based on the results of the electrochemical properties of the materials, the energy storage capacity of the CDPC material was good and stable. This investigation presents an eco-friendly methodology for the judicious utilization of coal in energy storage applications, specifically as electrodes for supercapacitors and anodes for Li-ion batteries.

Recent Advances in Laser-Induced Graphene-Based Materials for Energy Storage and Conversion.

Laser-induced graphene (LIG) is a porous carbon nanomaterial that can be produced by irradiation of CO2 laser directly on the polymer substrate under ambient conditions. LIG has many merits over conventional graphene, such as simple and fast synthesis, tunable structure and composition, high surface area and porosity, excellent electrical and thermal conductivity, and good flexibility and stability. These properties make LIG a promising material for energy applications, such as supercapacitors, batteries, fuel cells, and solar cells. In this review, we highlight the recent advances of LIG in energy materials, covering the fabrication methods, performance enhancement strategies, and device integration of LIG-based electrodes and devices in the area of hydrogen evolution reaction, oxygen evolution reaction, oxygen reduction reaction, zinc-air batteries, and supercapacitors. This comprehensive review examines the potential of LIG for future sustainable and efficient energy material development, highlighting its versatility and multifunctionality in energy conversion.

A poly(2,6-diaminopyridine) functionalized magnetic porous carbon nanomaterial for extraction and determination of phenol, nitrophenols, and chlorophenols in water samples

Herein, for the first time, a new method for the simultaneous extraction of phenol (Ph), nitrophenols (NPs), and chlorophenols (CPs) as the priority pollutants was proposed using a magnetic porous carbon coated with poly(2,6-diaminopyridine). The analytes were separated/determined by an HPLC device coupled to a diode array detector. Magnetic porous carbon was obtained by the pyrolysis of MIL-53(Fe) as a precursor and then functionalized with a layer of poly(2,6-diaminopyridine). Next, the synthesized adsorbent was identified by various methods, including FT-IR, XRD, SEM, VSM, surface analysis, and TEM techniques. After that, the design of the experiment strategy was used to identify and optimize the extraction variables. The LODs and linear range were obtained in the range of 0.04–0.15 µg/L and 0.1–500 µg/L, respectively. The one-day RSDs and day-to-day RSDs were gained in the range of 4.2–9.5 % and 5.0–12.5 %, respectively. The enrichment factors and extraction recoveries were obtained in the range of 208–378 and 41.6–75.6 %, respectively. Eventually, the outlined method was employed to analyze diverse water/wastewater samples satisfactorily.

Titanium metal–organic framework-derived nanocrystalline TiO2-supported nitrogen-doped carbon nanostructures as highly efficient antibiotic adsorbents

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are explored extensively as a distinctive precursor for producing porous metal oxide-supported nitrogen-doped carbon nanomaterials. MOF-derived materials can offer tailored porosity, structure, and elemental composition so they are gaining prominence as a new-generation adsorbent for emerging antibiotic contaminant removal in aqueous solutions. In this study, we demonstrate the fabrication of nanocrystalline titanium dioxide-supported nitrogen-doped carbon nanostructures (TiO2@NC) obtained from a titanium metal–organic framework (NH2-MIL-125(Ti)) as a starting precursor. When applied as an adsorbent, TiO2@NC nanospheres efficiently removed high concentrations of tetracycline (TC) in aqueous solutions. The TiO2@NC adsorption process obeyed the Langmuir model and pseudo-second-order kinetics. The optimum adsorption capacity of the TiO2@NC nanospheres is estimated to be 1187.08 mg g−1, which is remarkably superior to several previously reported adsorbents for TC removal. The TiO2@NC adsorbent performs efficiently in a broad pH range (3–8) and shows excellent stability. The post-adsorption characterization signifies the crucial role of the adsorbent's nitrogen sites, surface area, and porous sphere morphology in achieving efficient TC removal through hydrogen bonding, π-π interactions, and surface complexation.

High-performance lithium-ion supercapacitors based on electrodes with nanostructures derived from zeolite imidazole frameworks in electrospun nanofibers

Lithium-ion supercapacitors (LICs) have received widespread interests because of their high power density, high energy and long life characteristics. The electrodes for LICs play a significant role in enhancing their performance. Therefore, it is of great significance to design and develop high-performance electrode materials for LIC through integrating various materials to make up for each other’s disadvantages. Herein, a bimetallic composite nanomaterial with hierarchical structures (CoSnX/CNFM) and a porous carbon nanomaterial with high specific surface area (PCNFM) were obtained through combining electrospinning, anion exchange or alkali etching and subsequent high-temperature carbonization, respectively. The LIC assembled with the pre-lithiated CoSnX/CNFM as anode and the PCNFM as cathode exhibited a high energy density of 41.48 Wh/kg at a power density of 1500 W/kg, and still had an energy density of 28.13 Wh/kg at a high power density of 7500 W/kg, illustrating its high power density and high energy density. Thus, this paper proposes an effective method for designing and manufacturing high-performance LICs.

X-ray Spectroscopy Study of Defect Contribution to Lithium Adsorption on Porous Carbon.

Lithium adsorption on high-surface-area porous carbon (PC) nanomaterials provides superior electrochemical energy storage performance dominated by capacitive behavior. In this study, we demonstrate the influence of structural defects in the graphene lattice on the bonding character of adsorbed lithium. Thermally evaporated lithium was deposited in vacuum on the surface of as-grown graphene-like PC and PC annealed at 400 °C. Changes in the electronic states of carbon were studied experimentally using surface-sensitive X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy. NEXAFS data in combination with density functional theory calculations revealed the dative interactions between lithium sp2 hybridized states and carbon π*-type orbitals. Corrugated defective layers of graphene provide lithium with new bonding configurations, shorter distances, and stronger orbital overlapping, resulting in significant charge transfer between carbon and lithium. PC annealing heals defects, and as a result, the amount of lithium on the surface decreases. This conclusion was supported by electrochemical studies of as-grown and annealed PC in lithium-ion batteries. The former nanomaterial showed higher capacity values at all applied current densities. The results demonstrate that the lithium storage in carbon-based electrodes can be improved by introducing defects into the graphene layers.

Graphene oxide modulation of lignin-derived porous nanosheets for efficient desalination

Carbon nanomaterials derived from biomass have focused much attention due to their porous nanostructures and large specific surface area. This is more in line with the concept of sustainable development. Herein, the carbon nanosheets (GALC) derived from modulating lignin by graphene oxide (GO) are successfully assembled via simple confinement template action. The confined template effect of GO efficiently assembles lignin molecules into two-dimensional nanosheet structures. The interaction of oxygen-containing groups on the surface of GO with the NH2 groups of lignin makes the generated porous nanostructures more stable. The adsorption performance is further improved. The GALC shows the optimum electrochemical bilayer characteristics with a specific capacitance of 133 F·g−1. The desalination amount reaches 20.97 mg·g−1 with an average salt adsorption rate of 1.82 mg·g−1·min−1 during desalination process. The retention of desalination capacity is 90.18 %. This work strengthens the green chemistry implications of synthesizing porous carbon nanomaterials using biomass resource.

MIL-53(Al) assisted in upcycling plastic bottle waste into nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbon for high-performance supercapacitors

Disposable aluminum cans and plastic bottles are common wastes found in modern societies. This article shows that they can be upcycled into functional materials, such as metal-organic frameworks and hierarchical porous carbon nanomaterials for high-value applications. Through a solvothermal method, used poly(ethylene terephthalate) bottles and aluminum cans are converted into MIL-53(Al). Subsequently, the as-prepared MIL-53(Al) can be further carbonized into a nitrogen-doped (4.52 at%) hierarchical porous carbon framework. With an optical amount of urea present during the carbonization process, the carbon nanomaterial of a high specific surface area of 1324 m2 g−1 with well-defined porosity can be achieved. These features allow the nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbon to perform impressively as the working electrode of supercapacitors, delivering a high specific capacitance of 355 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 in a three-electrode cell and exhibiting a high energy density of 20.1 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 225 W kg−1, while simultaneously maintaining 88.2% capacitance retention over 10,000 cycles in two-electrode system. This work demonstrates the possibility of upcycling wastes to obtain carbon-based high-performance supercapacitors.

Design and structure optimization of coal-based hierarchical porous carbon by molten salt method for high-performance supercapacitors

Porous carbon is considered as one of the most ideal materials for supercapacitors due to its low cost, large specific area and high electrical conductivity. Here, we report a facile molten salt method to design and optimize the structure of porous carbon using coal as the precursor, and NaCl/ZnCl2 as the pore-forming agent and a strong polar solvent at high temperature. Through adjusting NaCl content in NaCl/ZnCl2 and the calcination temperature, the effects of preparation conditions on the morphologies and electrochemical properties of porous carbon are systematically explored. As a result, C-0.05N-700 exhibits a large specific surface area of 2548 m2 g−1, high yield of 42.9 wt% and specific capacitance of 344.3 F g−1 at 0.25 A g−1. The assembled symmetric supercapacitor displays a high energy density of 8.1 Wh kg−1 in 6 M KOH and 32 Wh kg−1 in 1 M Na2SO4, respectively. This work provides a referential strategy for the controllable preparation of hierarchical porous carbon with large specific surface area, and reveals the influence law of the preparation conditions on the properties of coal-based porous carbon nanomaterials, and the preparation route is cost-effective. Meanwhile, it can offer a new thought for the effective utilization of coal.

Nitrogen-doped porous carbon nanomaterials synthesized using a magadiite template as efficient peroxidase mimics for colorimetric detection of ascorbic acid as an antioxidant.

Nanomaterials with intrinsic enzyme-like activity have gained substantial scientific attention as viable substitutes to natural biological enzymes owing to their cheap price and great stability. Numerous artificial enzyme mimics have been employed effectively in sectors such as sensing, environmental processing, and cancer treatment. In this study, novel nitrogen-doped porous carbon nanomaterials (CPs) were produced by modifying polypyrrole with magadiite using chemical oxidative polymerization and calcination methods. The obtained nitrogen-doped porous carbon nanomaterials exhibited improved peroxidase-like activity, which catalyzed the oxidation of 3,3,5,5-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to produce colorful compounds. Kinetic investigation revealed that the affinity for TMB of nitrogen-doped porous carbon peroxidase mimics was higher than that of genuine horseradish peroxidase (HRP). In addition, a sensitive assay with encouraging performance for the colorimetric detection of ascorbic acid (AA) was successfully fabricated employing nitrogen-doped porous carbon nanomaterials as peroxidase mimics. The results were satisfactory and demonstrated its potential application in antioxidant detection.

Furfural residues derived nitrogen-sulfur co-doped sheet-like carbon: An excellent electrode for dual carbon lithium-ion capacitors

The state-of-the-art lithium-ion capacitors (LICs), consisting of high-capacity battery-type anode and high-rate capacitor-type cathode, can deliver high energy density and large power density when comparing with traditional supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries, respectively. However, the ion kinetics mismatch between cathode and anode leads to unsatisfied cycling lifetime and anode degradation. Tremendous efforts have been devoted to solving the abovementioned issue. One promising strategy is altering high conductive hard carbon anode with excellent structural stability to match with activated carbon cathode, assembling dual-carbon LIC. In this contribution, one-pot in-situ expansion and heteroatom doping strategy was adopted to prepare sheet-like hard carbon, while activated carbon was obtained involving activation. Ammonium persulfate was used as expanding and doping agent simultaneously. While furfural residues (FR) were served as carbon precursor. The resulting hard carbon (FRNS-HC) and activated carbon (FRNS-AC) show excellent electrochemical performance as negative and positive electrodes in a lithium-ion battery (LIB). To be specific, 374.2 mAh g−1 and 123.1 mAh g−1 can be achieved at 0.1 A g−1 and 5 A g−1 when FRNS-HC was tested as anode. When combined with a highly porous carbon cathode (SBET = 2961 m2 g−1) synthesized from the same precursor, the LIC showed high specific energy of 147.67 Wh kg−1 at approximately 199.93 W kg−1, and outstanding cycling life with negligible capacitance fading over 1000 cycles. This study could lead the way for the development of heteroatom-doped porous carbon nanomaterials applied to Li-based energy storage applications.

Electrode Materials for Desalination of Water via Capacitive Deionization.

Recent years have seen the emergence of capacitive deionization (CDI) as a promising desalination technique for converting sea and wastewater into potable water, due to its energy efficiency and eco-friendly nature. However, its low salt removal capacity and parasitic reactions have limited its effectiveness. As a result, the development of porous carbon nanomaterials as electrode materials have been explored, while taking into account of material characteristics such as morphology, wettability, high conductivity, chemical robustness, cyclic stability, specific surface area, and ease of production. To tackle the parasitic reaction issue, membrane capacitive deionization (mCDI) was proposed which utilizes ion-exchange membranes coupled to the electrode. Fabrication techniques along with the experimental parameters used to evaluate the desalination performance of different materials are discussed in this review to provide an overview of improvements made for CDI and mCDI desalination purposes.

Electrode Materials for Desalination of Water via Capacitive Deionization

AbstractRecent years have seen the emergence of capacitive deionization (CDI) as a promising desalination technique for converting sea and wastewater into potable water, due to its energy efficiency and eco‐friendly nature. However, its low salt removal capacity and parasitic reactions have limited its effectiveness. As a result, the development of porous carbon nanomaterials as electrode materials have been explored, while taking into account of material characteristics such as morphology, wettability, high conductivity, chemical robustness, cyclic stability, specific surface area, and ease of production. To tackle the parasitic reaction issue, membrane capacitive deionization (mCDI) was proposed which utilizes ion‐exchange membranes coupled to the electrode. Fabrication techniques along with the experimental parameters used to evaluate the desalination performance of different materials are discussed in this review to provide an overview of improvements made for CDI and mCDI desalination purposes

Boosting the Ni–Zn interplay via O/N dual coordination for high‐efficiency CO2 electroreduction

AbstractDesign of supportive atomic sites with a controllably adjusted coordinating environment is essential to advancing the reduction of CO2 to value‐added fuels and chemicals and to achieving carbon neutralization. Herein, atomic Ni (Zn) sites that are uniquely coordinated with ternary Zn (Ni)/N/O ligands were successfully decorated on formamide‐derived porous carbon nanomaterials, possibly forming an atomic structure of Ni(N2O1)‐Zn(N2O1), as studied by combining X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X‐ray absorption spectroscopy. With the mediation of additional O coordination, the Ni–Zn dual site induces significantly decreased desorption of molecular CO. The NiZn‐NC decorated with rich Ni(N2O1)‐Zn(N2O1) sites remarkably gained >97% CO Faraday efficiency over a wide potential range of ‒0.8 to ‒1.1 V (relative to reversible hydrogen electrode). Density functional theory computations suggest that the N/O dual coordination effectively modulates the electronic structure of the Ni–Zn duplex and optimizes the adsorption and conversion properties of CO2 and subsequent intermediates. Different from the conventional pathway of using Ni as the active site in the Ni–Zn duplex, it is found that the Ni‐neighboring Zn sites in the Ni(N2O1)‐Zn(N2O1) coordination showed much lower energy barriers of the CO2 protonation step and the subsequent dehydroxylation step.

Design strategy for porous carbon nanomaterials from rational utilization of natural rubber latex foam scraps

Design strategy for porous carbon nanomaterials from rational utilization of natural rubber latex foam scraps