scholarly journals Wood and Black Liquor-Based N-Doped Activated Carbon for Energy Application

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 9237
Author(s):  
Ance Plavniece ◽  
Aleksandrs Volperts ◽  
Galina Dobele ◽  
Aivars Zhurinsh ◽  
Kätlin Kaare ◽  
...  

Fuel cells, batteries and supercapacitors are critical to meet the rising global demand for clean, sustainable energy. Biomass-derived activated carbon can be obtained with tailored properties to fulfil the extensive need for low-cost, high-performance, catalyst and electrode materials. To investigate the possibility of nanoporous nitrogen-doped carbon materials as catalysts in fuel cells and electrodes in lithium-ion batteries, biomass precursors were thermochemically activated with NaOH at 800 °C, nitrogen was introduced using dicyandiamide and doping was performed at 800 °C. The chemical composition, porous structure, texture and electrochemical properties of the obtained materials change depending on the biomass precursor used. It has been found that the most promising precursor of the obtained materials is wood char, both as an oxygen reduction catalyst in fuel cells, which shows better properties than the commercial 20% Pt/C catalyst, and as an anode material in Li-ion batteries. However, catalysts based on black liquor and hybrid material have comparable properties with commercial 20% Pt/C catalyst and can be considered as a cheaper alternative.

Nanoscale ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (7) ◽  
pp. 2726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuangang Hu ◽  
Ying Xiao ◽  
Yang Zhao ◽  
Nan Chen ◽  
Zhipan Zhang ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Juan Yu ◽  
Xuyang Wang ◽  
Jiaxin Peng ◽  
Xuefeng Jia ◽  
Linbo Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Biomass-activated carbon materials are promising electrode materials for lithium-ion hybrid capacitors (LiCs) because of their natural hierarchical pore structure. The efficient utilization of structural pores in activated carbon is very important for their electrochemical performance. Herein, porous biomass-activated carbon (PAC) with large specific surface area was prepared using a one-step activation method with biomass waste as the carbon source and ZnCl2 as the activator. To further improve its pore structure utilization efficiency, the PAC was doped with nitrogen using urea as the nitrogen source. The experimental results confirmed that PAC-1 with a high nitrogen doping level of 4.66% exhibited the most efficient pore utilization among all the samples investigated in this study. PAC-1 exhibited 92% capacity retention after 8000 cycles, showing good cycling stability. Then, to maximize the utilization of high-efficiency energy storage devices, LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 (NCA), a promising cathode material for lithium-ion batteries with high specific capacity, was compounded with PAC-1 in different ratios to obtain NCA@PC composites. The NCA@PC-9 composite exhibited excellent capacitance in LiCs and an energy density of 210.9 Wh kg-1 at a high power density of 13.3 kW kg-1. These results provide guidelines for the design of high-performance and low-cost energy storage devices.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 574
Author(s):  
Emilius Sudirjo ◽  
Paola Y. Constantino Diaz ◽  
Matteo Cociancich ◽  
Rens Lisman ◽  
Christian Snik ◽  
...  

Large-scale implementation of (plant) microbial fuel cells is greatly limited by high electrode costs. In this work, the potential of exploiting electrochemically active self-assembled biofilms in fabricating three-dimensional bioelectrodes for (plant) microbial fuel cells with minimum use of electrode materials was studied. Three-dimensional robust bioanodes were successfully developed with inexpensive polyurethane foams (PU) and activated carbon (AC). The PU/AC electrode bases were fabricated via a water-based sorption of AC particles on the surface of the PU cubes. The electrical current was enhanced by growth of bacteria on the PU/AC bioanode while sole current collectors produced minor current. Growth and electrochemical activity of the biofilm were shown with SEM imaging and DNA sequencing of the microbial community. The electric conductivity of the PU/AC electrode enhanced over time during bioanode development. The maximum current and power density of an acetate fed MFC reached 3 mA·m−2 projected surface area of anode compartment and 22 mW·m−3 anode compartment. The field test of the Plant-MFC reached a maximum performance of 0.9 mW·m−2 plant growth area (PGA) at a current density of 5.6 mA·m−2 PGA. A paddy field test showed that the PU/AC electrode was suitable as an anode material in combination with a graphite felt cathode. Finally, this study offers insights on the role of electrochemically active biofilms as natural enhancers of the conductivity of electrodes and as transformers of inert low-cost electrode materials into living electron acceptors.


Crystals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 55
Author(s):  
Hany S. Abdo ◽  
Amit Sarkar ◽  
Madhu Gupta ◽  
Suvadra Sahoo ◽  
Jabair A. Mohammed ◽  
...  

The high cost of Pt-based electrode materials limits the commercialization of fuel cells and their subsequent application in renewable energy production. It is thus necessary to develop economical, high-performance electrodes alongside biofuels to reduce the pollution associated with the production of energy. Tin dioxide–copper foil (SnO2–Cu) electrode materials are herein developed using an electrodeposition process. Cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and potentiodynamic polarization methods are used to electrochemically characterize the electrode materials, with the results revealing that their excellent catalytic properties result in them delivering a high current. The surface morphologies of the developed electrodes are examined using scanning electron microscopy, with the results showing that upon an increase in the deposition time, a finer deposit of SnO2 is formed on the surface of the Cu foil. Consequently, electrochemical oxidation using an enhanced surface area of the material leads to it exhibiting a high current and excellent corrosion resistance. Powder X-ray diffraction was used to confirm the successful depositing of SnO2 on the surface of Cu. The fuel cell fabricated using the SnO2–Cu electrode is promising for use in clean energy generation, as it can be prepared at low cost compared to conventionally used electrodes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 384 ◽  
pp. 86-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaoming Wu ◽  
Han Bao ◽  
Zheng Xia ◽  
Bin Yang ◽  
Lecheng Lei ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (06) ◽  
pp. 1750077 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xun Zhang ◽  
Zhonglin Bu ◽  
Rui Xu ◽  
Bing Xie ◽  
Hong-Yi Li

Electrode materials with high performance and low cost are demanding in supercapacitor applications. Novel V2O3 nanofoam@activated carbon composites have been prepared simply and cost-efficiently. Due to the mesoporous structure and high specific surface of V2O3 nanofoam and the good electric conductivity of activated carbon, the obtained composites exhibit an obviously improved specific capacitance as high as 185[Formula: see text]F/g, which overpasses bulk V2O3 (119[Formula: see text]F/g) and activated carbon (113[Formula: see text]F/g). The rate capability of V2O3 nanofoam@activated carbon composites has also been improved, owing to the increased electron transport accelerated by the activated carbon and the fast electrolyte ion intercalation/deintercalation facilitated by mesopores of V2O3 nanofoam. The composites retain 56% of initial specific capacitance when the current density increases from 0.05[Formula: see text]A/g to 1.0[Formula: see text]A/g. Therefore, the obtained V2O3 nanofoam@activated carbon composites are low-cost electrode materials with obviously improved electrochemical performance, which are idea for supercapacitor application.


Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 122
Author(s):  
Renwei Lu ◽  
Xiaolong Ren ◽  
Chong Wang ◽  
Changzhen Zhan ◽  
Ding Nan ◽  
...  

Lithium-ion hybrid capacitors (LICs) are regarded as one of the most promising next generation energy storage devices. Commercial activated carbon materials with low cost and excellent cycling stability are widely used as cathode materials for LICs, however, their low energy density remains a significant challenge for the practical applications of LICs. Herein, Na0.76V6O15 nanobelts (NaVO) were prepared and combined with commercial activated carbon YP50D to form hybrid cathode materials. Credit to the synergism of its capacitive effect and diffusion-controlled faradaic effect, NaVO/C hybrid cathode displays both superior cyclability and enhanced capacity. LICs were assembled with the as-prepared NaVO/C hybrid cathode and artificial graphite anode which was pre-lithiated. Furthermore, 10-NaVO/C//AG LIC delivers a high energy density of 118.9 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 220.6 W kg−1 and retains 43.7 Wh kg−1 even at a high power density of 21,793.0 W kg−1. The LIC can also maintain long-term cycling stability with capacitance retention of approximately 70% after 5000 cycles at 1 A g−1. Accordingly, hybrid cathodes composed of commercial activated carbon and a small amount of high energy battery-type materials are expected to be a candidate for low-cost advanced LICs with both high energy density and power density.


Author(s):  
Thomas F Fässler ◽  
Stefan Strangmüller ◽  
Henrik Eickkhoff ◽  
Wilhelm Klein ◽  
Gabriele Raudaschl-Sieber ◽  
...  

The increasing demand for a high-performance and low-cost battery technology promotes the search for Li+-conducting materials. Recently, phosphidotetrelates and aluminates were introduced as an innovative class of phosphide-based Li+-conducting materials...


RSC Advances ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (33) ◽  
pp. 20601-20611
Author(s):  
Md. Mijanur Rahman ◽  
Kenta Inaba ◽  
Garavdorj Batnyagt ◽  
Masato Saikawa ◽  
Yoshiki Kato ◽  
...  

Herein, we demonstrated that carbon-supported platinum (Pt/C) is a low-cost and high-performance electrocatalyst for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs).


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