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Direct pyrolysis to convert biomass to versatile 3D carbon nanotubes/mesoporous carbon architecture: conversion mechanism and electrochemical performance

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Abstract

The massive conversion of resourceful biomass to carbon nanomaterials not only opens a new avenue to effective and economical disposal of biomass, but provides a possibility to produce highly valued functionalized carbon-based electrodes for energy storage and conversion systems. In this work, biomass is applied to a facile and scalable one-step pyrolysis method to prepare three-dimensional (3D) carbon nanotubes/mesoporous carbon architecture, which uses transition metal inorganic salts and melamine as initial precursors. The role of each employed component is investigated, and the electrochemical performance of the attained product is explored. Each component and precise regulation of their dosage is proven to be the key to successful conversion of biomass to the desired carbon nanomaterials. Owing to the unique 3D architecture and integration of individual merits of carbon nanotubes and mesoporous carbon, the assynthesized carbon nanotubes/mesoporous carbon hybrid exhibits versatile application toward lithium-ion batteries and Zn-air batteries. Apparently, a significant guidance on effective conversion of biomass to functionalized carbon nanomaterials can be shown by this work.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2019YFC1907900), Science & Technology Talents Lifting Project of Hunan Province (Grant No. 2022TJ-N16) and the Scientific Research Fund of Hunan Provincial Education Department, China (Grant No. 21A0392).

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  1. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China

    Chenxi Xu, Shunli Li, Yafei Kuang & Haihui Zhou

  2. Key Laboratory of Hunan Province for Advanced Carbon-Based Functional Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan Institute of Science and Technology, Yueyang, 414006, China

    Zhaohui Hou & Liang Chen

  3. Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Persistent Pollutants Control and Resources Recycle, Nanchang Hangkong University, Nanchang, 330063, China

    Liming Yang

  4. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA

    Wenbin Fu & Fujia Wang

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  1. Chenxi Xu
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  2. Shunli Li
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  3. Zhaohui Hou
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  4. Liming Yang
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  5. Wenbin Fu
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Correspondence to Haihui Zhou or Liang Chen.

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Direct pyrolysis to convert biomass to versatile 3D carbon nanotubes/mesoporous carbon architecture: conversion mechanism and electrochemical performance

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Xu, C., Li, S., Hou, Z. et al. Direct pyrolysis to convert biomass to versatile 3D carbon nanotubes/mesoporous carbon architecture: conversion mechanism and electrochemical performance. Front. Chem. Sci. Eng. 17, 679–690 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-022-2266-8

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