Surface Of Carbon Aerogel Research Articles

Towards selective synthesis of quinoxalines by using transition metals-doped carbon aerogels

Transition metal (TM)-carbon aerogels, where TM = Mo, Fe, Co or Cu, were found to be active and selective catalysts for the synthesis of quinoxalines 1, from o-phenylenediamine 2 and α-hydroxy ketones 3, becoming an efficient and sustainable alternative to other carbon-based catalysts or even MOF.Doping metal phase consisting of the corresponding metal oxides but also as zero-valent metals depending on the metal and carbonization temperature, and metal loading at the surface of carbon aerogel are key factors conditioning both reactivity and selectivity. Although metal oxides are probably the predominant active catalytic species, zero-valent metals nanoparticles (Cu0 or Co0) could be implied in the last dehydrogenation step of the reaction. Moreover, the additional functionalization with oxygenated surface groups (Co-1000PO catalyst) resulted on an enhanced reactivity probably due to the cooperation between both functions. Remarkably, Mo-500 catalyst was the most efficient sample selectively leading to the quinoxaline 1a in high conversion.Finally, our results strongly suggest different operative pathways when using TM-doped carbon aerogels depending on the metallic phase at the carbon surface. While TM-doped carbon aerogels (where TM = Fe, Co, or Cu) probably act catalyzing a sequential acid-base steps and subsequent aromatization leading to the corresponding quinoxaline 1a, Mo-doped catalyst would work via the initial oxidation of α-hydroxy ketones followed by condensation-dehydration reactions.

Dual-Mode Carbon Aerogel/Iron Rubber Sensor.

Nowadays, the integration of easy production, simple structure, high sensitivity, and multifunctionality is the developing tendency for flexible sensors. Herein we report a facile manufacture of a highly flexible, sensitive, and multifunctional dual-mode sensor with an ultrasimple structure by directly attaching magnetic iron rubber (IR) onto the surface of carbon aerogel (CA) derived from melamine foam. The dual-mode CA/IR sensor exhibits high sensitivities of 5.6 kPa-1 and 1.6·10-3 Oe-1, respectively, toward pressure and magnetic field in a wide frequency ranging from 0.1 to 10 Hz, which are higher than those of the existing flexible pressure/magnetism sensors. The multifunctionality of the dual-mode CA/IR sensor is demonstrated by monitoring blood pulse, human breath, balloon volume, and thoracic volume via pressure and magnetism sensing or their combination. Due to its simple structure and high sensitivities, the dual-mode sensor is employed as the building block to create a direction-recognizable sensor for identifying the directions of pressure and magnetic field for the awareness of surrounding barriers that are of practical importance in sophisticated situations such as autonomous artificial intelligence, autodriving and robotics, and so on.

Preparation of LDH-modified cotton fabric based carbon aerogel as a highly efficient adsorbent for tellurium recovery

As a rare element with special properties, tellurium (Te) is an important resource that has been widely used in many fields. In this paper, a novel renewable cotton fabric based Zn–Al layered double hydroxide (LDH) functionalized carbon aerogel (ZALCA) was successfully prepared by a facile freeze-drying, carbonization and in situ growth method, which can be used for tellurium adsorption. The scanning electron microscopy results showed that the flowerlike LDH nano-sheets are growing evenly on the surface of carbon aerogel and each LDH nano-sheet has a similar shape and size. The nitrogen sorption analysis confirmed that mesoporous ZALCA has the pores centered at about 3–5 nm and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area of 186.38 m2/g. Adsorption experiment results show that the ZALCA has excellent adsorption properties for tellurium ions in tellurium-containing solutions, and the maximum adsorption capacity is 132 mg/g. After recycling 10 times, the ZALCA still displayed high tellurium absorption property implies that the ZALCA has outstanding reusability performance. Therefore, the preparation of ZALCA as a tellurium adsorbent from low-cost cotton has great application potential in the recovery of tellurium.

Sorption of lead, mercury and cadmium ions in multi-component system using carbon aerogel as adsorbent

In the present study, adsorption of three metal ions Pb(II), Hg(II) and Cd(II) on carbon aerogel a new form of activated carbon has been investigated in mono- and multi-component (binary and tertiary) system. Batch experiments were also carried out for mono- and multi-component systems with varying metal ion concentration (mg/l) to investigate the competitive adsorption characteristics. Many adsorbents have been studied for their adsorption properties pertaining to mono-component solutions of metal ions. However, to treat wastewater with new materials, their performance needs to be ascertained in multi-component system. The scanning electron micrographs (SEM) and EDAX spectrum of carbon aerogel surfaces before and after the adsorbent was equilibrated with the metal ion solution clearly establishes the presence of the metal ions and some surface modifications can be observed on the carbon aerogel particles adsorption with (i) surface chemistry of the pellets on the surface of carbon aerogel and (ii) inside layers of the carbon aerogel. Applicability of the isotherm models namely Freundlich and Langmuir to predict the equilibrium uptake of Pb(II), Hg(II) and Cd(II) in mono-component, binary and tertiary system has also been tested. Langmuir and Freundlich models are found to generally represent the experimental though but not consistently.

Investigation of adsorption of lead, mercury and nickel from aqueous solutions onto carbon aerogel

AbstractRecently a new form of activated carbon has appeared: carbon aerogel (CA). Its use for the removal of inorganic (and especially metal ions) has not been studied. In the present study, the adsorption of three metal ions, Hg(II), Pb(II) and Ni(II), onto carbon aerogel has been investigated. Batch experiments were carried out to assess adsorption equilibria and kinetic behaviour of heavy metal ions by varying parameters such as agitation time, metal ions' concentration, adsorbent dose and pH. They facilitated the computation of kinetic parameters and maximum metal ion adsorption capacities. Increasing the initial solution pH (2–10) and carbon concentration (50–500 mg per 50 cm3) increases the removal of all three metal ions. A decrease of equilibrium pH with an increase of metal ion concentration led us to propose an adsorption mechanism by ion exchange between metal cations and H+ at the carbon aerogel surface. Carboxylic groups are especially involved in this adsorption mechanism. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were used to analyse the experimental data of carbon aerogel. The thermodynamics of the metal adsorption was also investigated for the practical implementation of the adsorbent. The sorption showed significant increase with increase of temperature. Kinetics models describing the adsorption of Hg(II), Pb(II) and Ni(II) ions onto carbon aerogel have been compared. Kinetics models evaluated include the pseudo‐first order and second order model. The parameters of the adsorption rate constants have been determined and the effectiveness of each model assessed. The result obtained showed that the pseudo‐second order kinetic model correlated well with the experimental data and better than the pseudo‐first order model examined in the study. Mass transfer coefficients obtained can be useful in designing wastewater treatment systems or in the development of environmental technologies. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry