The carbon spheres (CSs) synthesized by an ultrasonic-spray pyrolysis method were activated for supercapacitor electrode. There are plenty of cracks on the surface of the activated carbon spheres (ACSs), which expend with increasing the activation temperature and activator dosage. The specific capacitance of ACSs increases with the activation temperature and activator dosage and reach to maximal value at certain conditions. Importantly, the ACS sample activated at relatively low activation temperature (600 °C) and 7 of mass ratio of KOH to CSs has the highest specific capacitance (about 209 F g− 1 at 50 mA g− 1 of current density) and indicates the excellent cycling stability after 1000 consecutive charge–discharge cycles. Furthermore, the graphene sheets could be found in the samples that were activated at 1000 °C. And the electrode prepared by the sample has the very low series resistance because of the excellent conductivity of the formed graphene sheets.

Abstract In this study, we investigated that the activated carbon (AC)-based supercapacitor and introduced SIFSIX-3-Ni as a porous conducting additive to increase its electrochemical performances of AC/SIFSIX-3-Ni composite-based supercapacitor. The AC/SIFSIX-3-Ni composites are coated onto the aluminum substrate using the doctor blade method and conducted an ion-gel electrolyte to produce a symmetrical supercapacitor. The electrochemical properties of the AC/SIFSIX-3-Ni composite-based supercapacitor are evaluated through cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and galvanostatic charge/discharge tests (GCD). The AC/SIFSIX-3-Ni composite-based supercapacitor showed reasonable capacitive behavior in various electrochemical measurements, including CV, EIS, and GCD. The highest specific capacitance of the AC/SIFSIX-3-Ni composite-based supercapacitor was 129 F g−1 at 20 mV s−1.

A carbon nanofiber was produced from the Areca catechu husk as a supercapacitor electrode, utilizing a chemical activation of potassium hydroxide (KOH) at different concentrations. One-stage integrated pyrolysis both carbonization and physical activation were employed for directly converting biomass to activated carbon nanofiber. The morphology structure, specific surface area, pore structure characteristic, crystallinity, and surface compound were characterized to evaluate the influence on electrochemical performance. The electrochemical performance of the supercapacitor was measured using cyclic voltammetry (CV) through a symmetrical system in 1 M H2SO4. The results show that the KOH-assisted or absence activation converts activated carbon from aggregate into a unique structure of nanofiber. The optimized carbon nanofiber showed the large specific surface area of 838.64 m2 g−1 with the total pore volume of 0.448 cm3 g−1, for enhancing electrochemical performance. Beneficial form its unique structural advantages, the optimized carbon nanofiber exhibits high electrochemical performance, including a specific capacitance of 181.96 F g−1 and maximum energy density of 25.27 Wh kg−1 for the power density of 91.07 W kg−1. This study examines a facile conventional route for producing carbon nanofiber from biomass Areca catechu husk in economical and efficient for electrode supercapacitor.

The simultaneous use of KOH and nitrogen to manufacture carbon materials provides these materials with properties that the presence of only one of these additives would not give them, such as high porosity and reactivity. However, it is difficult to obtain nitrogen-doped carbon materials with both high porosity and high nitrogen content, as the KOH significantly reduces the nitrogen content. In this review the complex relationships between nitrogen content and nitrogen precursor amount, KOH amount and the activation temperature are discussed, with a focus on the different N-functional groups and the porosity of the fabricated carbons. Generally, increasing activation temperature and increasing KOH amount decrease the nitrogen content due to reactions with the N-containing substructures of carbon, resulting in the release of nitrogen as N2, HCN and other N gases. Increasing these parameters can also result in the reduction of pyridine-N while the amount of quaternary-N increases simultaneously. Besides this, an increase in the amount of nitrogen precursor leads to an increase in the porosity of N-doped materials. However, too high amounts of the nitrogen precursor generate an excess of nitrogen which blocks the pore system and consequently reduces the porosity of the doped carbons.

Carbon lives along with us in our daily life and has a vital role to play. It is present in the air and within all living organisms. Due to its handheld advantage in nano-properties that are utilized in many applications, carbon substrates came under limelight during the recent decades. Carbon substrates are most widely used in cancer detection, catalysis, bio-sensing, adsorption, drug delivery, carbon capture, hydrogen storage, and energy. Alongside, composite materials with carbon as an additive are also developing rapidly in applications like infrastructures, automobile, health care, consumer goods, etc. which became an integral chunk of our life. In this paper different types of carbon substrates and its applications, properties of the substrates were reviewed. The applications and methods of synthesis of carbon substrates are also dealt with a broad perspective.

Tungsten disulfide (WS2), a typical 2D layerd structure, has received much attention as a pseudocapacitive material because of its high theoretical specific capacity and excellent ion diffusion kinetics. However, WS2 has critical limits such as poor long-term cycling stability owing to its large volume expansion during cycling and low electrical conductivity. Therefore, to increase the high-rate performance and cycling stability for pseudocapacitors, well-dispersed WS2 nanoparticles embedded in carbon nanofibers (WS2-CNFs), including mesopores and S-doping, are prepared by hydrothermal synthesis and sulfurizaiton. These unique nanocomposite electrodes exhibit a high specific capacity (159.6 F g−1 at 10 mV s−1), excellent high-rate performance (81.3 F g−1 at 300 mV s−1), and long-term cycling stability (55.9% after 1,000 cycles at 100 mV s−1). The increased specific capacity is attributed to well-dispersed WS2 nanoparticles embedded in CNFs that the enlarge active area; the increased high-rate performance is contributed by reduced ion diffusion pathway due to mesoporous CNFs and improved electrical conductivity due to S-doped CNFs; the long-term cycling stability is attributed to the CNFs matrix including WS2 nanoparticles, which effectively prevent large volume expansion.

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extracts from sweet potatoes (SP) and watermelon (WM) on the oxidative stability of perilla seed oils (POs) over the existing ones. A comparison was done between the oxidative stability of perilla oil (PO) after the addition of 0.1% of SP, and WM extracts and PO without extract. The oxidative stability was measured based on the viscosity, acid value (AV), peroxide value (POV), antioxidant (DPPH) activity, p-anisidine value (p-AV), and fatty acid composition. The viscosities ranges were: PO without extract, from 53.99±0.99 to 74.38±1.61 cps, PO with SP extract, from 53.99±0.10 to 58.73±0.8 cps, and PO with WM extract, from 53.98±0.10 to 56.00±0.70 cps. While the PO containing the SC-CO2 extracts had significantly lower AV, POV, and p-AV, their antioxidant activity was approximately 10 times higher than that of the PO without extract. There were no significant differences in fatty acid composition between SC-CO2 extracts added groups and PO without extract (p<0.05). The findings of this study confirmed that the SC-CO2 extracts from sweet potatoes and watermelon enhanced the oxidative stability of perilla seed oils, and are potential natural antioxidants for use in the food industry.

본 연구에서는 곡물건조기의 사용 연식에 따른 이산화탄소 배출농도 차이를 비교함으로써 농업 분야의 온실가스 배출 현황을 파악하고자 한다. 사용 연식의 기준을 5년 이하, 6-10년, 10년 초과의 3단계로 구분하였고, 간헐 포집 방법을 선택하였다. 포집 방법은 EPA Method 18에 해당하는 방법론을 따라 수행하였으며, 이는 흡입장치가 음압을 이용하여 간헐적으로 포집하는 원리이다. 포집 장치에 연결되는 보관 용기는 모든 기체에 우수한 차단성이 있어 화학적으로 안정한 테드라백을 사용하였다. 포집 된 가스는 미량분석용인 Gas Chromatograph System을 사용하여 분석하였으 며, 이산화탄소 배출농도 분석결과 평균적으로 5년 이하는 847.4423μ㏖/㏖, 6-10년은 919.2811μ㏖/㏖, 10년 초과는 1137.8560μ㏖/㏖으로 분석되었다. 이산화탄소 배출에 차이가 있는지 검증하기 위해 유의수준 0.05로 일원분산분석을 수행하였다. 분산분석의 결과 연식이 비슷한 그룹 간의 배출농도의 차이가 없다고 나타났지만, 이는 연식의 차이가 크지 않을 때 그룹 간의 비교에 대해서는 더 많은 표본이 필요할 것으로 판단되며, 연식의 차이가 큰 그룹 간의 배출농도에 유의한 차이가 있다고 나타났다.

Nitrogen-doped carbon dots (CDts) with tunable fluorescence properties in aqueous media were synthesized hydrothermally. The excitation wavelength variation to obtain the maximum emission produced a blue shift in the emission peaks upon dilution in an aqueous solution. The shift can be explained by a re-absorption phenomenon in a concentrated solution. The interparticle interaction within was responsible to show dilution-dependent optical behavior. The as-synthesized solution of CDts did not show any prominent absorption peak over a wide range. However, upon dilution, two peaks became predominant. The concentration-dependent behavior was observed during the interaction with metal cations. Cationic salts of Co(II) and Hg(II) caused quenching at different dilutions of CDts. This might be explained by the exposure of different surface functional groups during dilution and metal-ion–CDts charge transfer. The quenched fluorescence of CDts was rescued using ascorbic acid. Therefore, the one-pot detection of Co(II)/Hg(II) and ascorbic acid was designed through a ‘Turn Off/On’ phenomenon.

The purpose of this study was to remove lead and arsenic ions from aqueous solutions using the activated carbon prepared from Citrus limon tree leaves. Characteristics of the prepared adsorbent were studied thoroughly using BET, SEM, EDS and mapping, XRD, and RAMAN analyses. The results of experiments showed that the highest adsorption efficiencies were 97.67% and 95.89% for Pb (II) and As (III), respectively. Additionally, the adsorbent was successfully regenerated four times and therefore it was able to perform the adsorption and desorption processes well. Moreover, the results of adsorption kinetics showed that the pseudo second-order kinetic model was more effective for the description of adsorption mechanism of both metals. Furthermore, the equilibrium studies indicated that Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were desirable for lead and arsenic ions, respectively.

A simulation based (DFT) study is performed on activated 2D-carbon sheet without and with vacancies of central carbon atoms, and explored the electronic properties. The inter-atomic distance at the center of activated carbon sheet is gradually increased with increasing number of vacancies. We get lower binding energy with three vacancies, and higher without a vacancy. A covalent bond is found between C–C atoms, density of states exhibit a semiconductor nature of a system without vacancy, and metallic nature in the presence of vacancies. There are higher peaks of resultant anti-bonding states with three vacancy system and it exhibits higher amorphous nature which causes higher electron concentration, mobility and higher electrical conductivity.

Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotubes (VACNTs)-coated flexible aluminium (Al) foil is studied as an electrode for supercapacitor applications. VACNTs are grown on Al foil inside thermal Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) reactor. 20 nm thick layer of Fe is used as a catalyst while Ar, H2 and C2H2 are used as precursor gases. The effect of growth temperature on the structure of CNTs is studied by varying the temperature of CVD reactor from 550 °C to 625 °C. Better alignment of VACNTs arrays on Al foil is recorded at 600 °C growth temperature in comparison to other processing temperatures. Cyclic voltammetry results shows that VACNTs-coated Al foil has a specific capacitance of ~ 3.01 F/g at a scan rate of 50 mV/s. The direct growth of VACNT array results in better contact with Al foil and thus low ESR values observed in impedance spectroscopy analysis. This leads to a fast charge–discharge cycle as well as a very high value of power density (187.79 kW/ kg) suitable for high power applications. Moreover, wettability study shows that the fabricated VACNT electrode has a contact angle of more than 152° which signifies that it is a superhydrophobic surface and hence shows lower specific capacitance in comparison to reported values for VACNT array. Therefore, it is necessary to develop suitable post-processing strategies to make VACNTs hydrophilic to realize their full potential in supercapacitor applications.

The XYZ 3-dimensional thermal conductivities of the C/C up to 2000 °C were measured by a laser flash method. Carbon fiberreinforced carbon composites (C/C) were generally developed for aerospace missions due to their excellent thermal resistivity at ultrahigh temperature. C/C must endure harsh environments such as thousands of degrees Celsius without degradation of its mechanical properties. To solve this problem, among the passive thermal protection system, we suggest a method of conducting more heat through the mono-axial direction, which resulted in ease of the thermal rise in the heat receiving part. For example, the X-43A flight applied unbalanced C/C (UCC) with different carbon fiber orientation ratios according to the XY direction in the leading edge part. To investigate the difference in thermal conductivity between unbalanced C/C (UCC) and balanced C/C (BCC), unbalanced and balanced preforms were prepared by a needle punching process, and then they were densified by pitch infiltration and a carbonization process. We compared and analyzed the effects of unbalanced C/C(UCC) and balanced C/C (BCC) structures on the thermal conductivity. We also designed the “rule of mixtures” equation for calculating thermal conductivities of each C/C using reported data of carbon fiber and graphite matrix. Our calculations of thermal conductivity ratio match the ratio of real data.

In this study, nitric acid oxidation with varied treatment temperature and time was conducted on the surfaces of polyacrylonitrile- based ultrahigh modulus carbon fibers. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and surface tension/dynamic contact angle instruments were used to investigate changes in surface topography and chemical functionality before and after surface treatment. Results showed that the nitric acid oxidation of ultrahigh modulus carbon fibers resulted in decreases in the values of the crystallite thickness Lc and graphitization degree. Meanwhile, increased treating temperature and time made the decreases more obviously. The surfaces of ultrahigh modulus carbon fibers became much more activity and functionality after surface oxidation, e.g., the total surface energy of oxidized samples at 80 °C for 1 h increased by 27.7% compared with untreated fibers. Effects of surface nitric acid oxidation on the mechanical properties of ultrahigh modulus carbon fibers and its reinforced epoxy composites were also researched. Significant decreases happened to the tensile modulus of fibers due to decreased Lc value after the nitric acid oxidation. However, surface treatment had little effect on the tensile strength even as the treating temperature and processing time increased. The highest interfacial shear strength of ultrahigh modulus carbon fibers/epoxy composites increased by 25.7% after the nitric acid oxidation. In the final, surface oxidative mechanism of ultrahigh modulus carbon fibers in the nitric acid oxidation was studied. Different trends of the tensile strength and tensile modulus of fibers in the nitric acid oxidation resulted from the typical skin–core structure.

We report the comparative study of electronic and optical properties of (6,1) SWCNT from GGA and DFT-1/2 methods. (6,1) SWCNT is a low-bandgap semiconductor, which falls within ( n1 − n2)/3≠ integer. The calculated bandgaps are 0.371 eV and 0.462 eV from GGA and DFT-1/2, respectively. Thus, DFT-1/2 enhanced the electronic bandgap by 24.52%. From both GGA and DFT-1/2 approaches (6,1) SWCNT exhibits an indirect bandgap along Γ − Δ symmetry. However, the percentage change in direct–indirect bandgap is negligibly small, i.e., 4.1% and 3.7% from GGA and DFT-1/2, respectively. The refractive index measured along x-axis ( n x ) approaches unity, indicating transparent behaviour, while that along z-axis ( n z ) goes as high as ∼3.82 for photon energy 0.0 − 0.15 eV, exhibiting opaque behaviour. Again, the value of n z drops below unity at photon energy ∼0.18 eV and again approaches ∼ 1 for higher energy ranges. The optical absorption is highly anisotropic and active within the infrared region.

The effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) coating in the presence of polyethyleneimine (PEI) of different molecular weights (MW) on the interfacial shear strength (IFSS) of carbon fiber/acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) and carbon fiber/epoxy composites was investigated. The IFSS between the carbon fiber and the polymer was evaluated by means of single fiber microbonding test. The results indicated that uses of the carbon fibers uncoated and coated with pristine, low MW PEI-treated, and high MW PEI-treated MWCNT significantly influenced the IFSS of both thermoplastic and thermosetting carbon fiber composites as well as the carbon fiber surface topography. The incorporation of low MW (about 1300) PEI into the carboxylated MWCNT was more effective not only to uniformly coat the carbon fiber with the MWCNT but also to improve the interfacial bonding strength between the carbon fiber and the polymer than that of high MW (about 25,000) PEI. In addition, carbon fiber/epoxy composite exhibited the IFSS much higher than carbon fiber/ABS composite due to the chemical interactions between the epoxy resin and amine groups existing in the PEI-treated MWCNT.

We report the rapid single-step flame synthesis of hydrophobic carbon layers (C-layers) on the surface of stainless-steel (SS) substrates using vaporized biodiesel as the fuel. A co-flow canola methyl ester/air diffusion flame is used to generate a hydrophobic monolayer on the surface of the metal substrate upon its insertion into the reaction zone. Carbon deposition on the surface of the SS substrates varies by changing the SS disk’s position in the post-flame, and by varying its exposure time. The thickness and mass of the flame-formed monolayer varied depending on the substrate’s insertion point into the flame. However, the variation of mass did not significantly impact the C-layer’s uniformity or hydrophobicity. We hypothesize that a small “inner-cone” of the biodiesel flame along with a high soot propensity can result in an ideal medium to form uniform hydrophobic C-layers of unique hierarchical surface structure. This is supported by introducing SS substrates in methane/air flames formed using the same co-flow burner. The hydrophobic property of the carbon deposits was quantified by measuring the contact angle of water droplets placed on the film’s surface. A water droplet drop test was conducted on the flame-formed hydrophobic layers to study their wettability property.

Aluminium metal matrix composites (AMMCs) are the fastest developing materials for structural applications due to their high specific weight, modulus, resistance to corrosion and wear, and high temperature strength. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is known as the material of the twenty-first century for its various applications in structural components for their high specific strength as well as functional materials for their exciting thermal and electrical characteristics. The present study comprise a systematic literature review of Al/CNT nanocomposites fabricated through a solid state friction stir processing. The present review is primarily focussed on the dispersion and survivability of CNTs in the Al matrix because these are the key factors in deciding the mechanical properties of the fabricated composite. Additionally, the formability, weldability and machinability of the FSPed fabricated composites reinforced with CNTs are also summarised here. Based on the detailed literature review, following research gaps are identified which require a critical and more focussed attention of the scientific community working in this research area: (i) the presence of agglomeration or clustering of CNTs in the composite, (ii) survivability and shortening of CNTs during FSP, (iii) interfacial reactions or the formation of reaction products (such as Al4C3) between Al matrix and CNTs, and (iv) the unidirectional alignment of CNTs in the fabricated composite. Important suggestions for further research in effective dispersion of CNTs with its preserved structure by FSP are also provided.

The reaction between Li2CO3 and Cl2 was investigated to verify its occurrence during a carbon-anode-based oxide reduction (OR) process. The reaction temperature was identified as a key factor that determines the reaction rate and maximum conversion ratio. It was found that the reaction should be conducted at or above 500℃ to convert more than 90% of the Li2CO3 to LiCl. Experiments conducted at various total flow rate (Q) / initial sample weight (W i) ratios revealed that the reaction rate was controlled by the Cl2 mass transfer under the experimental conditions adopted in this work. A linear increase in the progress of reaction with an increase in Cl2 partial pressure (pCl2) was observed in the pCl2 region of 2.03–10.1 kPa for a constant Q of 100 mL∙min−1 and W i of 1.00 g. The results of this study indicate that the reaction between Li2CO3 and Cl2 is fast at 650℃ and the reaction is feasible during the OR process.

본 연구의 목적은 END 금연동기유발 프로그램이 흡연 고등학생의 일산화탄소, 금연자기효능감, 흡연일수, 1일 흡연량에 미치는 효과를 확인하기 위해 실시한 비동등성 대조군 전·후 시차설계를 이용한 유사 실험연구이다. 대상자는 C시에 소재한 고등학생으로 금연에 관심이 있는 흡연학생으로 실험군 27명, 대조군 28명 총 55명이었으며 자료수집은 2018년 7월 12일부터 10월 4일까지였다. 대상자에게 중재한 프로그램은 END 금연동기유발 프로그램으로 주 1회 50분, 총 6주간이었다. 중재결과 실험군은 대조군에 비해 금연 자기효능감(z=110.00, p＜.001), 흡연일수(z=640.00, p＜.001), 1일 흡연량(z=520.50, p＜.016) 이 지지되었다. 따라서 END 금연동기유발 프로그램은 학교 현장에서 흡연 고등학생의 흡연율을 낮추고 금연동기를 유발하여 금연을 유도하기 위한 중재로 본 프로그램의 적용을 제안한다.