In this work, iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles were deposited on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) by a simple chemical coprecipitation method and Fe3O4-decorated MWNTs (Fe-MWNTs)/polypyrrole (PPy) nanocomposites (Fe-MWNTs/PPy) were prepared by oxidation polymerization. The effect of the PPy on the electrochemical properties of the Fe-MWNTs was investigated. The structures characteristics and surface properties of MWNTs, Fe-MWNTs, and Fe-MWNTs/PPy were characterized by X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The electrochemical performances of MWNTs, Fe-MWNTs, and Fe-MWNTs/PPy were determined by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge characteristics in a 1.0 M sodium sulfite electrolyte. The results showed that the Fe-MWNTs/PPy electrode had typical pseudo-capacitive behavior and a specific capacitance significantly greater than that of the Fe-MWNT electrode, indicating an enhanced electrochemical performance of the Fe-MWNTs/PPy due to their high electrical properties.

In this study, cobalt oxide (Co3O4)/graphene composites were synthesized through a simple chemical method at various calcination temperatures. We controlled the crystallinity, particle size and morphology of cobalt oxide on graphene materials by changing the annealing temperatures (200, 300, 400℃). The nanostructured Co3O4/graphene hybrid materials were studied to measure the electrochemical performance through cyclic voltammetry. The Co3O4/graphene sample obtained at 200℃ showed the highest capacitance of 396 Fg-1 at 5 mVs-1. The morphological structures of composites were also examined by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Annealing Co3O4/graphene samples in air at different temperatures significantly changed the morphology of the composites. The flower-like cobalt oxides with higher crystallinity and larger particle size were generated on graphene according to the increase of calcination temperature. A TEM analysis of the composites at 200℃ revealed that nanoscale Co3O4 (~7 nm) particles were deposited on the surface of the graphene. The improved electrochemical performance was attributed to a combination effect of graphene and pseudocapacitive effect of Co3O4.

Graphene is the thinnest known materials in the universe and the strongest ever measured. Graphene has emerged as an exotic material of the 21st century and received world-wide attention due to its exceptional charge transport, thermal, optical, mechanical, and adsorptive properties. Recently, graphene and its derivatives are considered promising candidates as adsorbent for H2 storage, CO2 capture, etc. and as the sensors for detecting individual gas molecule. The main purpose of this review is to comprehensive the synthesis method of graphene and to brief the adsorption behaviors of graphene and its derivatives.

In this work, expanded graphite (EG)-reinforced poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) nanocomposites were prepared by the melt mixing method and the content of the EG was fixed as 2 wt%. The effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as a co-carbon filler on the electrical and mechanical properties of the EG/PET was investigated. The results showed that the electrical and mechanical properties of the EG/PET were significantly increased with the addition of MWCNTs, showing an improvement over those of PET prepared with EG alone. This was most likely caused by the interconnections in the MWCNTs between the EG layers in the PET matrix. It was found that the addition of the MWCNTs into EG/PET led to dense conductive networks for easy electron transfers, indicating a bridge effect of the MWCNTs.

Carbon-based electric double-layer capacitors are being evaluated as potential energy-storage devices in an expanding number of applications. In this study, samples of carbon black (CB) treated at different temperatures ranging from 650℃ to 1100℃ were used as electrodes to improve the efficiency of a capacitor. The surface properties of the heat-treated CB samples were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The effect of the heat-treatment temperature on the electrochemical behaviors was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and in galvanostatic charge-discharge experiments. The experimental results showed that the crystallinity of the CBs increased as the heat-treatment temperature increased. In addition, the specific capacitance of the CBs was found to increase with the increase in the heat-treatment temperature. The maximum specific capacitance was 165 F·g-1 for the CB sample treated at 1000℃.

Petroleum pitch-based activated carbons (ACs) were obtained in this work from a combination of pretreatment with different amounts of potassium permanganate (KMnO4) and chemical activation with potassium hydroxide. The surface characteristics of the pitch after the KMnO4 pretreatment were characterized by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The structural characteristics of the pitch after the KMnO4 pretreatment were determined by means of X-ray diffraction. The influence of the KMnO4 treatment on the textural properties of the petroleum pitch-based ACs was investigated by means of N2/77K adsorption isotherms. The investigation also involved the use of the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller equation and the Dubinin-Radushkevich method. The FT-IR results show that the pretreatment promotes the formation of surface oxygen functionalities and leads to an increase of the interplanar distance (d002) of the functional groups induced between carbon layers. Moreover, the specific surface area of the pitch-based ACs increases in proportion to the amount of KMnO4 pretreatment and reaches its highest value of 2334 m2/g with 2 g of KMnO4 because the surface oxygen groups of the pitch act as an active site during chemical activation.

Public concern has recently increased over the potential risk of toxic elements emitted from anthropogenic sources. Among these, mercury has drawn special attention owing to its increasing level of bioaccumulation in the environment and in the food chain, with potential risks for human health. This paper presents an overview of research related to mercury control technology and identifies areas requiring additional research and development. It critically reviews measured mercury emissions progress in the development of promising control technologies, including catalytic oxidation, sorbent injection, photochemistry oxidation, and air pollution control devices.

The scope of this work investigates the relationship between the amount of oxygen-functional groups and hydrogen adsorption capacity with different concentrations of phosphoric acid. The amount of oxygen-functional groups of activated carbons (ACs) is characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The effects of chemical treatments on the pore structures of ACs are investigated by N2/77 K adsorption isotherms. The hydrogen adsorption capacity is measured by H2 isothermal adsorption at 298 K and 100 bar. In the results, the specific surface area and pore volume slightly decreased with the chemical treatments due to the pore collapsing behaviors, but the hydrogen storage capacity was increased by the oxygen-functional group characteristics of AC surfaces, resulting from enhanced electron acceptor-donor interaction at interfaces.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have high Young's modulus, low density, and excellent electrical and thermal properties, which make them ideal fillers for polymer composites. Homogeneous dispersion of CNTs in a polymer matrix plays a crucial role in the preparation of polymer composites based on interfacial interactions between CNTs and the polymer matrix. The addition of a small amount of CNTs strongly improves the electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties of the composites. This paper aims to review the processing technology and improvement of properties of CNT-reinforced polymer composites.

This study aimed to investigate the influence of mesoporous carbons on the thermal insulation properties of epoxy/mesoporous carbon composites. The mesoporous carbon (CMK-3) was prepared by conventional templating method using SBA-15. The epoxy/mesoporous carbon composites were prepared by mixing the synthesized CMK-3 with diglycidylether of bisphenol A (DGEBA). As experimental results, the curing reactivities of the DGEBA/CMK-3 composites were found to decrease with the addition of the CMK-3. Also, the thermal conductivities of DGEBA/CMK-3 composites were found to decrease with increasing CMK-3 content. This could be interpreted in terms of the slow thermal diffusion rate resulting in pore volume existing in the gaps in the interfaces between the mesoporous carbon and the DGEBA matrix.

In this work, the effect of glycidyl methacrylate grafted multi-walled carbon nanotubes (GMA-MWCNTs) on the viscoelastic behaviors of polypropylene (PP) based nanocomposites was studied. The GMA-MWCNTs/PP was prepared using a bravender at 200℃ by melt mixing as a function of GMA-MWCNT content. The viscoelastic behaviors of GMA-MWCNTs/PP nanocomposites were measured by a rheometer. It was found that the GMA-MWCNTs were homogeneously dispersed in the PP matrix. The GMA-MWCNTs/PP nanocomposites showed higher storage modulus, loss modulus, and shear viscosity compared to pure PP nanocomposites and the maximum value was shown at 2.0 wt% GMA-MWCNTs loading. These results were probably attributed to the strong interfacial interaction between the GMA-MWCNT and the PP matrix.

In this work, the effect of aminized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (NH-MWNTs) on the mechanical interfacial properties of epoxy nanocomposites was investigated by means of fracture toughness, critical stress intensity factor (KIC), and impact strength testing, and their morphology was examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM). It was found that the incorporation of amine groups onto MWNTs was confirmed by the FT-IR and Raman spectra. The mechanical interfacial properties of the epoxy nanocomposites were remarkably improved with increasing the NH-MWNT content. It was probably attributed to the strong physical interaction between amine groups of NH-MWNTs and epoxide groups of epoxy resins. The SEM micrographs showed that NH-MWNTs were uniformly embed and bonded with epoxy resins, resulted in the prevention of the deformation and crack propagation in the NH-MWNTs/epoxy nanocomposites.

In this work, graphite nanofibers (GNFs) were prepared by ammonia and heat treatment at temperatures up to 1000℃ to improve its CO2 adsorption capacity. The effects of the heat treatment on the textural properties and surface chemistry of the GNFs were investigated by N2 adsorption isotherms, XRD, and elemental analysis. We found that the chemical properties of GNFs were significantly changed after the ammonia treatment. Mainly amine groups were formed on the GNF surfaces such as lactam groups, pyrrole and pyridines. The GNFs treated at 500℃ showed highest CO2 adsorption capacity of 26.9 mg/g at 273 K in this system.

In this work, the effect of co-carbon fillers on the electrical and mechanical properties of epoxy nanocomposites was investigated. The graphite nanosheets (GNs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were used as co-carbon fillers. The results showed that the electrical conductivity of the epoxy nanocomposites showed a considerable increase upon an addition of MWNTs when GNs were fixed at 2 wt.%. This indicated that low content GNs formed the bulk conductive network and then MWNTs added were intercalated between the GN layers, resulted in the formation of additional conductive pathway. Furthermore, the flexural strength of the epoxy nanocomposites was enhanced with increasing the MWNT content. It was probably attributed to the flexible MWNTs compared with rigid GNs, resulted in the enhancement of the mechanical properties.

In this work, the effect of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) addition on physicochemical characteristics of CNFs-reinforced epoxy matrix nanocomposites was studied. Poly(amide imide) solutions in dimethylformamide were electrospun into webs consisting of 250±50 nm fibers which were used to produce CNFs through stabilization and carbonization processes. As a result, the CNFs with average diameter of 200±20 nm were obtained after carbonization process. The nanocomposites with CNFs showed an improvement of thermal stability parameters and fracture toughness factors, compared to those of the specimen without CNFs, which could be probably attributed to the higher specific surface area and larger aspect ratio of CNFs, resulting in improving the mechanical interlocking in the nanocomposites. Also, the applied external loading can effectively transfer to CNFs because strong interactions are resulted between the epoxy matrix and the CNFs.

In this work, the CO2 adsorption behaviors of amine functionalized activated carbons (ACs) were investigated. The surface of ACs was modified with urea, melamine, diethylenetriamine (DETA), pentaethylenehexamine (PEHA), polyethylenimine (PEI), and 3-aminopropyl-triethoxysilane (ATPS). The various surface properties of amine functionalized ACs were characterized by Boehm's method, nitrogen full isotherms, XPS, and TGA analyses. The active ingredients impregnated on the ACs show significant influence on the adsorption for CO2 and its volumes adsorbed on amine functionalized ACs are larger than that on the pristine ACs, which is due to the grafted amine groups of the AC surfaces.