Effect of high temperature treatment on electrochemical properties of activated carbon fabric in supercapacitor application

In this study, viscose rayon-based activated fabrics were used as the electrodes of supercapacitors. First, viscose rayon knitted fabrics underwent oxidation, carbonization and activation in a semi-open high-temperature erect furnace to produce activated carbon fabrics (ACFs). They were then treated at temperatures up to 1500 °C for one hour. Electrochemical properties of ACFs were investigated by cycle voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The ACFs after high temperature treatment has improved conductivity and substantially increased mesopore ratio, yielding higher capacitor retention in rapid charging-discharging processes. It is shown that the ACFs treated at 1500 °C had the highest mesopore ratio of 83 %, specific surface area of 1254 m²/g and average pore diameter of 20.9 Å, resulting in lower resistance of 0.2 Ω-cm. In addition, this ACFs electrode showed the highest capacitance retention of 49 % at high charging speed of 250 mV/s.     

Optimum manufacturing conditions of activated carbon fiber absorbents. II. Effect of carbonization and activation conditions

In this paper, viscose rayon-based knitted fabrics were utilized as the precursor to produce activated carbon fiber absorbents (ACFA). The effects of carbonization and activation conditions on characteristics (ACFA) were examined. Experimental results revealed that increasing the flow rate of environmental gas N₂ and steam activator used in conjunction and decreasing the production rate of ACFA can obtain better pore properties. However, higher flow rate of steam activator and lower production rate of ACFA reduced the weight yield. According to our findings, to maintain good absorption property of ACFA, the optimum manufacturing conditions are flow rate of gas N₂ at 80 cc/min, flow rate of steam activator at 60 ml/min, and production rate of ACFA at 30 cm/min, with flame retardant reagent concentration maintained at 30%. Under these conditions, the weight yield can be up to 40.85% and the BET surface area can exceed 1500 g/m².     

PAN-based carbon nanofiber absorbents prepared using electrospinning

This study takes polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as a raw material for PAN-based nanofiber nonwoven prepared using electrospinning. First we construct a thermal-stable process for the fabrication of oxidized nanofiber nonwovens as the precursor. A semi-open high-temperature erect furnace is then used with steam as the activator, through carbonization and activation processes to prepare carbon nanofiber absorbents continuously. The experiment varies the production rate and activator flow rate to prepare carbon nanofiber absorbents. Experimental results show that carbon nanofiber adsorbents are primarily made up of micropores and mesopores, averaging under 20 Å. Given a production rate of 10–20 cm/min with a matching activator feed rate of 120 ml/min, the specific surface area can reach about 1000 m²/g, producing an adsorption ratio of carbon tetrachloride over 200 %.     

Effects of carbonization temperatures on characteristics of porosity in coconut shell chars and activated carbons derived from carbonized coconut shell chars

A series of experiments have been conducted to study the effects of different carbonization temperatures (400, 600, 800 and 1000 °C) on characteristics of porosity in carbonized coconut shell char and activated carbon derived from carbonized coconut shell char with different activation times (30, 60, 90 and 120 min) at activation temperature of 900 °C. The results showed that high temperature carbonized coconut shell char and activated carbon samples derived from high temperature carbonized coconut shell chars had higher BET surface area, total volume, micropore volume and yield as compared to those of low temperature carbonized coconut shell char and activated carbon derived from low temperature carbonized coconut shell char. The BET surface area, total volume and micropore volume of activated carbon prepared from char obtained at 1000 °C with activation time of 120 min were 1926 m²/g, 1.26 cm³/g and 0.931 cm³/g, respectively. From the results, it was concluded that we could produce high surface area activated carbons from coconut shells using physical activation (steam activation) by proper selections of carbonization temperature and activation time.     

Production of activated carbon from organic by-products from the alcoholic beverage industry: Surface area and hardness optimization by using the response surface methodology

The ability of activated carbon to remove pollutants from water in packed column systems is dependent on granular material with mechanical strength sufficient to avoid attrition caused by stream flow. Therefore, an appropriate balance between surface area and hardness is essential when using activated carbon in real systems. The purpose of this research is to determine the optimal production conditions that generate activated carbon with adequate physical properties to be used in packed systems from agave bagasse, a waste product from the mezcal industries in Mexico. Activated carbons were produced by chemical activation (ZnCl₂ or H₃PO₄). Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to evaluate the effect of the activation temperature (250-550 °C), activation time (0-50 min), and the concentration of activating agent (0.2-1.4; g activating agent/g bagasse) on both surface area and hardness. The production conditions that generated optimal characteristics in the activated carbon were 392 °C, 1.02 g activating agent/g bagasse and 23.8 min for H₃PO₄ activated samples and 456 °C, 1.08 g activating agent/g bagasse and 23.8 min for ZnCl₂ activated samples. The surface area and hardness of the activated carbon produced from bagasse under these conditions were similar to activated commercial carbons (surface area > 800 m²/g and hardness > 85%).     

Effect of high temperature treatment on electrochemical properties of carbon nanofiber membrane

In this study, polyacrylonitrile was used as the nanofiber membrane material. Through A two-stage continuous process, namely, oxidation process and carbonization and activation process, an activated nanofiber membrane material was fabricated. Subsequently, the membrane underwent high-temperature heat treatment (1100-1500 °C) to explore the effect of temperature on its properties. Charge/discharge rate was employed to determine the capacitance retention ratio to evaluate the applicability of the fabricated membrane in high-power super capacitor electrodes. The results revealed that in the treated membrane, the lattice size increased from 1.24 nm to between 3.20 and 4.72 nm. In addition, the volume resistivity was reduced from 6 Ω-cm to between 9.70E-2 and 3.85E-2 Ω-cm, substantially improving the electric conductivity. The activated carbon nanofiber membrane treated with high temperature at 1100 °C exhibited the highest capacitance of 704 F/g at a scan rate of 5 mV/s.     

Preparation and characterization of porous carbon based nanocomposite for supercapacitor

Porous nanocomposites are prepared by electrospinning blended polyacrylonitrile, copper acetate and mutiwalled carbon nanotube in N, N-dimethylformamide. The electrospun nanofiber webs are oxidatively stabilized and then carbonized resulting in composite carbon nanofibers. The study reveals that composite nanofibers with relatively smooth surface morphology are successfully prepared. X-ray diffraction is used to confirm the presence of Cu in carbon nanofibers. The carbon nanofibers with CNTs have better thermal stability and higher electrical conductivity. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis reveals that C/Cu/CNTs nanocomposites with mesopores possess larger specific surface area and narrower pore size distribution than that of C/Cu nanofibers. The electrochemical properties are investigated by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge tests. The nanocomposite with 0.5 wt.% CNT loading exhibits an energy density of 2 Whkg^?1, power density of 1916 Wkg^?1, a specific capacitance of about 225 Fg^?1 at a current density of 2 Ag^?1 and its capacitance decreased to 78 % of its initial value after 3,000 cycles.     

Applicability of Industrial Sisal Fiber Waste Derived Activated Carbon for the Adsorption of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)

Agricultural waste produced by the industry is a huge threat for the global environment. Utilization of agricultural waste is necessary and there is an urgent need to develop new techniques to solve this important problem. The main objective of this research was to evaluate the applicability of the activated carbon (AC) derived from industrial sisal fiber waste as passive samplers in monitoring toluene by comparing them to industry standard wafer and granular activated carbon (GAC). Carbonization time and ball milling effect on sisal fiber derived AC sample adsorption properties were investigated. Toluene adsorption isotherms were used to predict toluene adsorption capacities. Surface characteristics including surface area and pore volume were used to determine the relationships between them and adsorption capacity. Even though prepared AC samples have mesoporous structure, commercial samples have microporous structure. Surface area from 1245 m²/g to 1297 m²/g and toluene adsorption capacity from 21.4 % to 26.6 % was improved by increasing carbonization time from 1 h to 3 h at 650 °C carbonization temperature and 94.4 ml/min flow rate. Conversely, ball milling technique had negative effect by decreasing the surface area (674 m²/g) and the adsorption capacity of toluene (12.27 %). It is concluded that industrial sisal fiber waste have great potential as a precursor of AC for application in passive monitoring against toluene, particularly the produced mesoporous AC with 3 h carbonization time performs higher adsorption capacity (26.6 %) than commercially available microporous passive sampler (24.1 %) and GAC (22.8 %).     

Development of Activated carbon from Windmill palm sheath fiber by KOH activation

In this study, activated carbon was prepared from windmill palm sheath fiber (WPF) powder by KOH activation for full utilization of the bioresource. First, the optimal parameters of the activation technology, such as impregnation ratio, temperature, and time, were determined. The pyrolysis process and activation mechanism of KOH were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). WPF powder-based activated carbons were then prepared under the optimized condition and characterized by SEM, FTIR, XRD, and nitrogen adsorption techniques. The reaction mechanisms were deduced in two phases. The reaction mechanisms in the first carbonization process were mainly related to substitution, scission, and oxidization reactions of methylene. In the second activation process, KOH and carbon began to react at 350 °C, producing potassium compounds, which further reacted with carbon. Results show that the optimal process for preparing an excellent adsorbent from WPF employs an impregnation ratio of 4:1 at 850 °C for 2.5 h, which can result in a good adsorption property for methylene blue, high BET surface area of 1734.34 m²/g, and total pore volume of 0.96 cm³/g. WPF-based activated carbon demonstrates a remarkable adsorption capacity, and thus WPF has great potential value as a new agricultural resource.     

Preparation of high surface area activated carbons from tobacco stems with K2CO3 activation using microwave radiation

In this paper, activated carbons with high surface area from carbonized tobacco stems with K₂CO₃ activation by microwave radiation were investigated. Effects of microwave radiation time and K₂CO₃/C ratio on the yield and adsorption capacities of activated carbons were evaluated. Experimental results indicated that the optimum conditions were as follow: microwave power 700 W; microwave radiation time 30 min; K₂CO₃/C ratio 1.5:1. Iodine number, amount of methylene blue adsorption and the yield of activated carbon prepared under optimum conditions were 1834 mg/g, 517.5 mg/g and 16.65%, respectively. Surface area, micropore volume and pore size distribution (PSD) of the carbons were determined by the BET, H-K and DFT methods. Results showed that activated carbons had a micropore content about 59.98% and a small number of mesopores and macropores; BET specific surface area and total pore volume were 2557 m²/g and 1.647 cm³/g, respectively.     

响应面法制备枇杷核微孔炭及其选择性吸附研究

以新鲜枇杷核为原料制备了枇杷核微孔炭（LMC）,以 LMC 对盐酸四环素的吸附率为指标,通过响应面法优化制备工艺,进一步研究了 LMC 的孔结构和选择性吸附性能。结果表明：最优制备工艺为活化时间 192 min、活化温度 565 ℃、活化升温速率 21.5 ℃/min、炭化温度 632 ℃;该工艺所得枇杷核微孔炭对盐酸四环素的吸附率高达 95.25%,其 BET 比表面积为 1 275 m2/g,微孔表面积为 1 219 m2/g,总孔容为 0.535 4 cm3/g,微孔孔容为0.473 cm3/g;较高的比表面积和高比例的微孔含量赋予其优异的分子尺寸选择性吸附性能。     

Unprecedented Electromagnetic Shielding Effectiveness of Lightweight Nonwoven Ag/PA66 Fabrics

Novel, high-performance silver coated polyamide, Ag/PA66, nonwoven fabrics with a density of only 0.04 g/cm³ have been developed using staple fibres of 19 (3.3 dtex) and 27 (6.7 dtex) μm diameter. The obtained nonwoven fabrics with an Ag loading of 12-18 wt% exhibited excellent weight-normalised specific electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of over 1200 dB/(g/cm³) in the 0.015-3 GHz range, which is among the highest reported till date. Moreover, the applied microwave was verified to be absorbed rather than being reflected back making the fabrics highly suitable for shielding applications. It was also observed that nonwoven fabrics made from finer 3.3 dtex Ag/PA66 fibres have higher reflection and lower absorption values than their thicker (6.7 dtex) counterparts. Additionally, we have also explored the use of these nonwoven Ag/PA66 fabrics for personal thermal management via Joule heating with samples showing rapid heating response (up to 0.2 °C/sec) and long-term stability measured over 10,000 seconds. The needle-punched Ag/PA66 nonwoven fabrics, in spite of their low density of the order of 0.04 g/cm², exhibited high EMSE values of nearly 69-80 dB, leading to excellent weightnormalised specific electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of over 1200 dB/(g/cm³) in the 0.015-3 GHz range. The production of Ag/PA66 needle punched nonwoven fabrics thus offers a facile route to develop multifunctional fabrics for EMI shielding as well as personal thermal management applications.     

Effect of temperature and activators on the characteristics of activated carbon fibers prepared from viscose-rayon knitted fabrics

This study used viscose rayon-based knitted fabric, pre-treated by a composite flame retardant, as the precursor. The fabric then underwent oxidation, carbonization and activation in a semi-open high-temperature erect furnace to produce Activated Carbon Fabrics (ACF). The microstructure and chemical properties of the ACF were obtained under carbonization temperatures of 600–1000 °C and by different activation sources. The results showed that the ACF produced was mainly of a microporous structure. When the carbonization temperature was increased, the production rate dropped while both the true density (D_He) and crystallization thickness increased. In addition, ACF prepared using steam, plus water as the activation source, has a larger specific surface area, greater crystallization thickness and a higher true density (D_He).     

Porosity and nonwoven fabric vertical wicking rate

Fabric porosity is the result of fabric constructional parameters combination and used technology of nonwoven production. The effects of fabric porosity structure, as well as the content of hydrophilic viscose and hydrophobic polyester fibres in the web mixture, on the vertical wicking rate by nonwoven fabrics have been explored in this research. Fibrous webs with a different content of viscose and polyester fibres, with the web volume mass range of 0.019-0.035 g/cm³ were utilized during this study. The samples were produced using a dry-laid method of web forming and two methods of web bonding, e.g. needle punching and calendar bonding. Results show that higher volume porosity gives higher vertical wicking rate by all groups of tested samples regarding the content of used hydrophilic/hydrophobic fibres and that fluid flow is faster in samples with larger pores. The higher content of viscose fibres improve the vertical wicking rate, but better rising height can be achieved at samples made from 100 % of coarser polyester fibres. A prediction model of vertical wicking rate of viscose/ polyester nonwovens was developed on the basis of the fundamental constructional parameters of nonwoven fabrics (fibre fineness, type of raw material, and web density) and a non-deterministic modelling method, e.g. genetic algorithms, which can serve as a useful tool for fabric engineers by developing a nonwoven fabric in order to fit desired wicking rate.     

Optimum manufacturing conditions of activated carbon fiber absorbents. I. Effect of flame retardant reagent concentration

In this paper, viscose rayon-based knitted fabrics were utilized as the precursor to produce activated carbon fiber absorbents (ACFA). To obtain better pore characteristics and higher weight yield of ACFA, the effect of flame retardant reagent concentration was studied. Experimental results revealed that both BET surface area and micropore volume increased with increasing flame retardant reagent concentration. On the other hand, both weight yield and micropore volume ratio (V_mic/V_tot) decreased as the flame retardant reagent concentration increased. It was therefore concluded that controlling the flame retardant reagent concentration at 30% not only could obtain better absorption property of ACFA but also helped maintain its production efficiency.     

Fabrication of electromagnetic shielding polyester fabrics with carboxymethyl chitosan-palladium complexes activation

Electromagnetic shielding polyester fabrics were prepared using carboxymethyl chitosan-palladium (CMCS-Pd) complexes as activation solution, followed by electroless nickel plating. CMCS-Pd complexes were prepared by the complexing adsorption between CMCS and Pd²⁺. The effects of reaction time and pH value on the adsorption of Pd²⁺ by CMCS were discussed. The maximum adsorption capacity was calculated as 4.27 mmol/g. CMCS-Pd complexes were characterized by ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometer and Fourier transform-infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The induction time of electroless plating decreased gradually with the increase of Pd²⁺ concentration. The lowest surface resistance 125 mΩ/sq of the treated polyester fabric was obtained when Pd²⁺ concentration in CMCS-Pd complex was 1.5 g/l. The prepared polyester fabrics had excellent electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (SE) of 40–60 dB. The treated polyester fabrics were also characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results showed that CMCS-Pd was effective to form an active catalyzed layer on polyester substrate and the 1.5 g/l Pd²⁺ was sufficient to initiate electroless nickel plating reaction. The CMCS-Pd complex activation and electroless nickel plating treatment caused small changes in the polyester fabrics’ tensile strength and air permeability.     

Effect of pigment particle character on dyeing performance of cotton fabrics

The cotton fabrics were dyed by exhaust method using the pigment dispersions as colorant, and meanwhile the effects of particle character on dyeing performance were further investigated. The results showed that the larger zeta potentials, the higher K/S value, pigment uptakes, rubbing and washing fastness of the dyed cotton fabrics were. Adsorption isotherms were belonging to Langmuir type when zeta potentials were about 0.46 mV and 31.39 mV respectively. The cotton fabrics that dyed by the pigment dispersions with small particles had high K/S value, rubbing and washing fastness. The chemical structure of pigment had little influence on pigment uptakes, and all kind of pigment dispersions reach to 98 % uptakes after 30 min but exhibit various uptake rates at initial stage.     

A study on chitosan modification of polyester fabrics by atmospheric pressure plasma and its antibacterial effects

Chitosan is a natural nontoxic biopolymer used widely in various fields due to the antimicrobial activities. In this study, the properties of polyester fabrics grafted with chitosan oligomers/polymers after being activated by atmospheric pressure plasmas were evaluated. The antibacterial effect was most evident when the surface of fabrics was activated by atmospheric pressure plasma for 60 to 120 seconds and grafted with chitosan oligomers. The modified fabrics also exhibited good biocompatibility. This process can be applied to a large area and used to produce antibacterial polymer fibers.     

高比表面积活性炭研究进展

综述国内外高比表面积活性炭研究概况,重点介绍高比表面积活性炭的制备、应用和展望.     

Adsorption Kinetics of Acid Red on Activated Carbon Web Prepared from Acrylic Fibrous Waste

In this work, activated carbon (AC) web was prepared using physical activation under the layer of charcoal in high temperature furnace. The carbonization of acrylic fibrous waste was performed at different temperatures (800 °C, 1000 °C, and 1200 °C) with heating rate of 300 °C/h and at different holding time. At 1200 °C, the heating rate of 300 °C/h and no holding time provided better results of surface area as compared to carbonization at 800 °C and 1000 °C. The activated carbon web (AC) prepared at 1200 °C was used for removal of Acid Red 27 dye from aqueous media by varying different parameters like initial concentration of dye, stirring speed, adsorbent dosage, and pH. The results were evaluated using non-linear forms of Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The Freundlich isotherm was found to describe the results more effectively because of non-homogenous surface of activated carbon web. Further, the kinetics of adsorption was examined using linear and nonlinear forms of pseudo 1st order and pseudo 2nd order.