Department of Materials Science, University of Patras, 26504 Rio Patras, Greece, Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute, National Hellenic Research Foundation, 48 Vass. Constantinou Avenue, 116 35 Athens, Greece, Institut de Biologie Moleculaire et Cellulaire, UPR9021 CNRS, Immunologie et Chimie Therapeutiques, 67084 Strasbourg, France, and Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Universita di Trieste, Piazzale Europa 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy

Chemistry of Carbon Nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) hold the promise of delivering exceptional mechanical properties and multi-functional characteristics. Ever-increasing interest in applying CNTs in many different fields has led to continued efforts to develop dispersion and functionalization techniques. To employ CNTs as effective reinforcement in polymer nanocomposites, proper dispersion and appropriate interfacial adhesion between the CNTs and polymer matrix have to be guaranteed. This paper reviews the current understanding of CNTs and CNT/polymer nanocomposites with two particular topics: (i) the principles and techniques for CNT dispersion and functionalization and (ii) the effects of CNT dispersion and functionalization on the properties of CNT/polymer nanocomposites. The fabrication techniques and potential applications of CNT/polymer nanocomposites are also highlighted.

Dispersion and functionalization of carbon nanotubes for polymer-based nanocomposites: a review

Modification of the surface chemistry of activated carbons

Liming Dai,*,†,‡ Yuhua Xue,†,‡ Liangti Qu,* Hyun-Jung Choi, and Jong-Beom Baek* †Center of Advanced Science and Engineering for Carbon (Case4Carbon), Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, United States Key Laboratory of Cluster Science, Ministry of Education of China, Beijing Key Laboratory of Photoelectronic/Electrophotonic Conversion Materials, Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China School of Energy and Chemical Engineering/Center for Dimension-Controllable Covalent Organic Frameworks, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), 100 Banyeon, Ulsan, 689-798, South Korea

Metal-free catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction.

In this review, the progress made in the last ten years concerning the synthesis of porous carbon materials is summarized. Porous carbon materials with various pore sizes and pore structures have been synthesized using several different routes. Microporous activated carbons have been synthesized through the activation process. Ordered microporous carbon materials have been synthesized using zeolites as templates. Mesoporous carbons with a disordered pore structure have been synthesized using various methods, including catalytic activation using metal species, carbonization of polymer/polymer blends, carbonization of organic aerogels, and template synthesis using silica nanoparticles. Ordered mesoporous carbons with various pore structures have been synthesized using mesoporous silica materials such as MCM-48, HMS, SBA-15, MCF, and MSU-X as templates. Ordered mesoporous carbons with graphitic pore walls have been synthesized using soft-carbon sources that can be converted to highly ordered graphite at high temperature. Hierarchically ordered mesoporous carbon materials have been synthesized using various designed silica templates. Some of these mesoporous carbon materials have successfully been used as adsorbents for bulky pollutants, as electrodes for supercapacitors and fuel cells, and as hosts for enzyme immobilization. Ordered macroporous carbon materials have been synthesized using colloidal crystals as templates. One-dimensional carbon nanostructured materials have been fabricated using anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) as a template.

Recent Progress in the Synthesis of Porous Carbon Materials

Recent findings regarding the controversy surrounding asphaltene molecular weight coupled with increasing understanding of their molecular structure has enabled the understanding of asphaltene properties. It has been shown previously that larger ring systems require more alkane substituents to maintain a balance between ring stacking propensity vs steric repulsion. Here, stacking and its disruption in asphaltenes and aromatic ring systems are explored using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). It is shown that molecularly disparate asphaltenes exhibit stacking invariants. Solubility data herein suggests these stacking invariants naturally follow from the solubility classification of asphaltenes.

Probing Order in Asphaltenes and Aromatic Ring Systems by HRTEM

A new quantitative approach for microstructural analysis of coal char using HRTEM images

In order to understand the mechanism of C−NO reaction, the detailed material balance was established by analyzing all the gas species produced during the reaction with mass spectroscopy and gas chromatography. The amount of nitrogen-containing surface species was estimated in the temperature range between 600 and 950 °C and with NO concentration of, mainly, 540 ppm. Then the effect of surface species on the reaction rate was examined. The step response experiments were carried out by switching the feed gas from 14N16O to 15N18O. The results reveal not only the reaction mechanism but also the depletion rate of surface nitrogen species during the experiment. N2 formation rate was correlated with NO concentration and the amount of surface nitrogen species. It is concluded that N2 is mainly formed by the first-order reaction between C(N) and NO.

Role of N-Containing Surface Species on NO Reduction by Carbon

We present the first synthesis of double coaxial carbon nanotubes with nitrogen-doped and boron-doped multiwalls by the template technique with two-step chemical vapor deposition. X-ray photoelectron spectra confirm the coaxial formation of different-doped structures. The electrical conductance and oxygen chemisorption measurement indicate dual electrical properties and chemical activity at their outer and inner layers.

A. Tomita

Papers

Probing Order in Asphaltenes and Aromatic Ring Systems by HRTEM

A new quantitative approach for microstructural analysis of coal char using HRTEM images

Role of N-Containing Surface Species on NO Reduction by Carbon

The template synthesis of double coaxial carbon nanotubes with nitrogen-doped and boron-doped multiwalls

The change of TPD pattern of O2-gasified carbon upon air exposure