State-of-the-art on the production and application of carbon nanomaterials from biomass

TLDR: In this paper, the progress in the technology of the preparation of carbon nanomaterials from biomass in the last few decades is discussed. And the potential market of biomass-based carbon materials is summarized.

About: This article is published in Green Chemistry.The article was published on 2018-11-12 and is currently open access. It has received 218 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Biomass.

Figures

Fig. 1 Production of CNMs from biomass

Fig. 13 The proposed possible catalytic mechanism of the Ni-NiFe2O4/CNFs for the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene reported by Liu et al. 50. Reproduced from 50 with permission from the Royal Society of Chemistry

Fig. 11 Proposed photocatalytic degradation mechanism of bisphenol A by metal oxide/poplar leavesderived CNTs reported by Qu group 112. Reproduced from 112 with permission from the Royal Society of Chemistry

Fig. 4 Relationships of conventional CVD, in situ CVD and Two-step CVD

Fig. 8 SEM images of bamboo samples treated at different temperature reported by Zhu et al. 130: a) 1200 ℃, b) 1300 ℃, c) 1400 ℃, d) 1500 ℃. Top right insets are magnified images and Left bottom

Fig. 6 Schematic diagram of an experimental system employed in Alves et al. 105 (a), Wu et al. 106 (b), and Efika et al. 104 (c) study. Reproduced from 105, 106, 104 with permission from the Elsevier.

Frequently asked questions

Q1. What are the contributions in "State-of-the-art on the production and application of carbon nanomaterials from biomass" ?

The purpose of this review is to overview the progress on the technologies for CNMs preparation from biomass in the latest few decades. Finally, the advances in the application of biomass-based CNMs in terms of ecological remediation, photocatalysis, electrode materials for supercapacitor and battery, chemical catalysis and composites are briefly summarized for developing the potential market of biomass-based CNMs. 

Q2. What was the main reason for the formation of CNMs from biomass?

It was reported that the minerals like Fe particle and silicates in biomass were crucial for CNMs synthesis from biomass, which acted as catalysts 87, 118. 

Q3. What mechanism was used to form graphitic CNMs around the metallic nanoparticles?

Graphitic CNMs were then formed around the metallic nanoparticles through a catalytic mechanism that involved the dissolution of amorphous carbon into catalyst particles followed by the precipitation of graphitic carbons. 

Q4. What are the advantages of biomass-based CNMs?

Biomass-based CNMs have good potential to be used in the field of electrochemical industrial, as they have unique three-dimensional structure and abundant surface38   functional groups, high specific surface area and abundant porosity. 

Q5. What is the universal method for the removal of H, O, N and S from biomass?

Thermal conversion involving pyrolysis, incineration or gasification is considered as one of the most universal methods for the removal of H, O, N and S from biomass. 

Q6. What is the reason for the formation of large amounts of CNTs on the bottom?

The formation of large amounts of CNTs containing catalyst particles on the bottom could be ascribed to the strong binding force between catalyst particles and the support surface. 

Q7. What is the main reason for the biomass-based CNMs?

In addition, as a result of low-cost, eco-friendly and renewable nature of feedstock (biomass) and unique properties such as abundant surface functional groups and minerals, biomass-based CNMs seems to possess more promising potential applications in comparison with conventional CNMs 144, 165. 

Q8. What is the role of the carbon vapors in the formation of tubular CNMs?

The asformed nano-channels and the carbon vapors from the ablation of cellulose microfibrils would separately acted as a template and a gas phase carbon source to mediate the synthesis of tubular CNMs 117. 

Q9. What are the surface functional groups that are responsible for the electrochemical performance of the biomass-based?

In addition to the N-containing surface functional groups originated from the biomass precursor, surface modification were also beneficial to improve the electrochemical performance of the biomass-based CNMs 68. 

Q10. What is the effect of the detached catalyst on the diameter of CNMs?

the detached catalyst would aggregate together to form catalyst clusters or lumps which make the diameter of CNTs significantly increased. 

Q11. What are the key factors that constrain the CNMs in making contributions in the development of human?

to seek new, environmentally friendly, low-cost and renewable carbon sources and explore corresponding preparation methods towards CNMs are the key factors that constrain the CNMs in making contributions in the development of human society. 

Q12. What is the catalytic performance of the silicates in the preparation of CNTs?

And catalytic performance of the silicates in the preparation of CNTs were significantly determined by their composition and phase, which were greatly depended on the employed temperature in turn. 

Q13. How many layers of graphene were readily obtained?

When the as-derived cellulose microfibrils were subjected to a pyrolysis and graphitization process (see Fig. 3), interconnected highly graphitic carbon nanosheets with 2-10 atomic layers were readily obtained 71.13   activation 

Q14. What is the way to prepare graphitic porous CNMs?

it can be concluded that the combination of catalytic graphitization and thermos-chemical activation procedure is an effective and promising way to prepare graphitic porous CNMs. 

Q15. What other minerals were in favor of the synthesis of CNMs?

The authors hence deduced that in addition to Fe and silicates, other minerals (CaCO3 and K2O) were also in favor of the synthesis of CNMs, acting as catalysts. 

Q16. What kind of BCs were used for the synthesis of CNMs?

Zhou et al. investigated the application of four kinds of BCs originated from coconutshell, bamboo, hemp straw and lauan as catalyst support for CNMs synthesis, respectively 152. 

Q17. What are the commonly used carbon sources for the preparation of CNMs?

Up to date, the most commonly used carbon sources for the preparation of CNMs are purified CO, CO2 and hydrocarbons (such as CH4, C2H4, benzene, naphthalene) 40, 42, 80, 81. 

Q18. How did the surface of the bamboo-derived AC decrease after the introduction of Co?

It is worth noting that after the growth of CNTs, the specific surface area and total pore volume of the bamboo-derived AC did not sharply decrease as general biomass-based AC performed (as mentioned above) but further enhanced to 2278 m2/g and 1.39 cm3/g. 

Q19. What is the main reason for the lack of a tunable physicochemical?

It is worth noting that there are still a great deal of challenge in preparation biomass based-CNMs with tunable physicochemical properties because of the complex structure and composition of biomass precursor. 

Q20. What was the effect of heat pretreatment on the formation of CNMs?

The result demonstrated that heat pretreatment was favorable for the retention of the nano-architecture of the cell wall which was responsible for the formation of tubular CNMs after cyclic heat treatment.