Electrochemical catalysis at low dimensional carbons: Graphene, carbon nanotubes and beyond – A review

doi:10.1016/j.apmt.2016.09.011

Applied Materials Today

Volume 5, December 2016, Pages 134-141

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmt.2016.09.011 Get rights and content

Highlights

•
Electrocatalysis of carbon nanotubes, graphene nanoribbons and graphene is discussed.
•
The role of edge sites and defects is highlighted.
•
Carbon-based and metallic impurities in many cases reason for enhanced electrocatalysis on these materials.

Abstract

Nanocarbons, such as graphene, carbon nanotubes and other carbon nanomaterials show very interesting and useful electrochemical and electrocatalytic properties. These can be harnessed in various applications, from sensing and biosensing devices to energy storage and generation devices, such as supercapacitors, batteries or catalysts in the fuel cells. Here we review progress made towards understanding the driving force behind electrochemistry of these nanocarbons, such as edge/basal plane, dopants and impurities effects. We also discuss selected application.

Graphical abstract

Section snippets

Low dimensional carbons: carbon nanotubes and graphenes

Graphene is atomically thin two dimensional sp² bonded carbon sheet which is a single layer of graphite. Such unique structure make graphene exhibits remarkable properties in both physical and chemical field, such as, excellent thermal [1] and electrical conductivity [2], [3], [4], mechanical strength [5], optical properties [6], [7] large surface area [8], [9] and remarkable electrochemical properties [10]. The carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can be considered as rolled up graphene sheets and perform

Influence of impurities on electrochemistry of carbon nanotubes and graphenes

It shall not be surprise to realize that CNTs contains impurities, as in order to prepare CNTs the arch evaporation based growth or chemical vapour deposition (CVD) would be employed, and the target carbon structure will be formed on the metal catalysts (i.e., Ni, Fe, Co, Mo and their mixtures). During this synthesis process, the diffusion of dissociated carbon from the precursor will not only form the tubular structure, but also enclose the metal catalysts into the nanotubes and present as

Electrochemical studies of 3D hybrid nanomaterials

While most of the studies listed above are carried out on the 2D or pseudo 2D nanomaterials assemblies on the surface of the electrode, for real world application, especially in the area of energy applications, there is often need of high turnaround. Thus, a 3D electrode such as Ni foam [114], carbon foam [115] and aerogel [116] that coated/grown with catalytic nanomaterial would be preferred for the studies on energy related reactions.

In the field of energy storage, oxygen reduction reaction

Conclusions

Here we discussed electrochemistry of 1D, 2D and 3D carbon nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes, graphene and 3D templated graphene films. We have discussed true reasons which stay behind the electroactivity of these materials, such as density of edge of graphene (and end of CNT) vs basal plane or presence of defects. We have also discussed role of metallic and carbon based impurities on the electrocatalysis of these materials. Potential electrochemical applications of these one-dimensional

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by Tier 2 grant (MOE2013-T2-1-056; ARC 35/13) from the Ministry of Education, Singapore.

References (129)

K.I. Bolotin et al.
Solid State Commun.
(2008)
L.K. Putri et al.
Appl. Mater. Today
(2016)
J. Wang
Electroanalysis
(2013)
Y.D. Zhao et al.
Talanta
(2002)
X. Wang et al.
Carbon
(2001)
K.B. Shelimov et al.
Chem. Phys. Lett.
(1998)
P.X. Hou et al.
Carbon
(2008)
R.K. Joshi et al.
Appl. Mater. Today
(2015)
O. Jankovský et al.
Appl. Mater. Today
(2016)
L. Wang et al.
Electrochem. Commun.
(2013)

T.J. Davies et al.

J. Electroanal. Chem.

(2005)

T. Kolodiazhnyi et al.

Chem. Phys. Lett.

(2005)

X.-X. Ma et al.

Appl. Mater. Today

(2016)

T.V. Vineesh et al.

Appl. Mater. Today

(2015)

A.A. Balandin et al.

Nano Lett.

(2008)

X. Du et al.

Nat. Nanotechnol.

(2008)

J. Moser et al.

Appl. Phys. Lett.

(2007)

J.S. Bunch et al.

Science

(2007)

R.R. Nair et al.

Science

(2008)

A.K. Geim et al.

Nat. Mater.

(2007)

K.S. Novoselov et al.

Nature

(2005)

M.D. Stoller et al.

Nano Lett.

(2008)

M. Pumera

Chem. Eur. J.

(2009)

Y.C. Chen et al.

ACS Nano

(2013)

Y.W. Son et al.

Nature

(2006)

P. Ruffieux et al.

ACS Nano

(2012)

Y. Pleskov et al.

J. Electroanal. Chem. Interfacial Electrochem.

(1987)

R. Ramesham et al.

Anal. Chem.

(1993)

G.M. Swain

Adv. Mater.

(1994)

R.G. Compton et al.

Electroanalysis

(2003)

S. Griese et al.

Electroanalysis

(2008)

B.S. Sherigara et al.

Electroanalysis

(2003)

Q. Zhao et al.

Electroanalysis

(2002)

P. Kohli et al.

Electroanalysis

(2004)

J. Wang

Electroanalysis

(2005)

X.K. Ji et al.

Electroanalysis

(2010)

S. Campuzano et al.

Electroanalysis

(2011)

J.J. Gooding et al.

J. Am. Chem. Soc.

(2003)

S. Zhang et al.

J. Am. Chem. Soc.

(2014)

J. Wu et al.

ACS Nano

(2015)

G. Xiong et al.

Electroanalysis

(2014)

C. Su et al.

Acc. Chem. Res.

(2013)

D.S. Su et al.

Chem. Rev.

(2013)

L. Dai et al.

Chem. Rev.

(2015)

C.E. Banks et al.

Chem. Commun.

(2005)

C.E. Banks et al.

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.

(2006)

R.R. Moore et al.

Anal. Chem.

(2004)

L. Wang et al.

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.

(2013)

L. Wang et al.

Chem. Commun.

(2014)

L. Wang et al.

ChemCatChem

(2015)

Cited by (87)

Construction of MoS<inf>2</inf> intercalated Siloxene heterostructure for all-solid-state symmetric supercapacitors
2022, Applied Materials Today
Two-dimensional (2D) heterostructure electrode materials have recently attracted great interest in supercapacitors because of their unique features. Herein, we report molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) intercalated Siloxene heterostructure based all-solid-state symmetric supercapacitor (SSC) for an energy harvester-storage system. The interlaying spacing of the Siloxene sheets in the heterostructure is expanded due to the MoS₂ intercalation and the synergistic behaviour, which are fruitful for the higher charge storage performance of the fabricated SSC device. The density functional theory calculation results prove the enhanced conductivity of the Siloxene@MoS₂ heterostructure. The fabricated Siloxene@MoS₂ device exhibits a device capacitance of 133.5 F g^–1 with an energy density of 31.3 Wh kg^–1. Besides, the supercapacitor device has excellent cyclic stability of 89.3% after 15,000 cycles. The energy stored from an inertial energy harvester is successfully utilized for real-time application, confirming the practical usage of the constructed energy harvester-storage system. The outcome of the work demonstrated that the Siloxene@MoS₂ heterostructure could be a promising candidate for high-performance supercapacitors and provides a novel strategy to design Siloxene material with other pseudocapacitive for future energy storage devices.
The Role of Carbon-Based Materials for Fuel Cells Performance
2022, Carbon
Global reduction of traditional fuel sources such as natural gases, coal, and petroleum has led researchers to seek prominent and beneficial energy conversion devices. Fuel cells are a newfound and upcoming energy generation systems that have progressed rapidly. Fuel cells are popular eco-friendly devices among different energy conversion devices due to their cost-effectiveness and high output. In a fuel cell composed of a cathode, anode, and electrolyte, the electrical energy is produced through chemical reactions. Various fuels such as H₂, alcohols, especially ethanol and methanol, and formic acid are applied in fuel cells. Large scale application of this technology mainly depends on two aspects, including one is the possibility to produce on a large scale and accessible cost-efficient catalytic materials (anodic and cathodic), and second is the stable and high performing membrane in fuel cells. Among various investigated materials, carbon supports and metal-free carbon materials are widely used in fuel cell devices, which increases their overall electrochemical surface area (ECSA) and performance. Carbon-based materials with high surface area, excellent electrical conductivity, and high porosity is known to be a primary substrate for electrochemical energy storage applications such as batteries, supercapacitors, and fuel cells. Herein, we have reviewed the efficacy of carbon-based materials on electrocatalytic activity, stability, and output performance of different fuel cells.
Multi-heteroatom-doped carbocatalyst as peroxymonosulfate and peroxydisulfate activator for water purification: A critical review
2022, Journal of Hazardous Materials
Catalytic activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and peroxydisulfate (PDS) (or collectively known as persulfate, PS) using carbocatalyst is increasingly gaining attention as a promising technology for sustainable recalcitrant pollutant removal in water. Single heteroatom doping using either N, S, B or P is widely used to enhance the performance of the carbocatalyst for PS activation. However, the performance enhancement from single heteroatom doping is limited by the type of heteroatom used. To further enhance the performance of the carbocatalyst beyond the limit of single heteroatom doping, multi-heteroatom doping can be conducted. This review aims to provide a state-of-the-art overview on the development of multi-heteroatom-doped carbocatalyst for PS activation. The potential synergistic and antagonistic interactions of various heteroatoms including N and B, N and S, N and P, and N and halogen for PS activation are evaluated. Thereafter, the preparation strategies to develop multi-heteroatom-doped carbocatalyst including one-step and multi-step preparation approaches along with the characterization techniques are discussed. Evidence and summary of the performance of multi-heteroatom-doped carbocatalyst for various recalcitrant pollutants removal via PS activation are also provided. Finally, the prospects of employing multi-heteroatom-doped carbocatalyst including the need to study the correlation between different heteroatom combination, surface moiety type, and amount of dopant with the PS activation mechanism, identifying the best heteroatom combination, improving the durability of the carbocatalyst, evaluating the feasibility for full-scale application, developing low-cost multi-heteroatom-doped carbocatalyst, and assessing the environmental impact are also briefly discussed.
Zeolite templated carbon from Beta replica as metal-free electrocatalyst for CO<inf>2</inf> reduction
2022, Applied Materials Today
Zeolite Templated Carbons (ZTCs) are a class of materials that feature the textural properties of the template zeolites and the high conductivity of graphene-like structures. These characteristics make ZTCs a valuable candidate for CO₂ catalytic reduction. We report here for the first time that metal-free ZTCs obtained from Beta zeolite are a novel valuable energy material for the reduction of CO₂ to formic acid, about 10 times better than a reference reduced graphene oxide catalyst. In addition, it is evidenced that the pristine ZTC contains a large amount of oxygen, an aspect largely underestimated in literature. A specific method to reduce this oxygen content was developed, that coupled to an in-depth characterization by multiple techniques of these materials, allows to understand the nature of the oxygen functionalities on ZTCs surface. Moreover, it was evidenced that the change of oxygenated species by combined thermal and NaBH₄ treatment of ZTCs affects the catalytic behavior, leading to a remarkable increase in the performances compared to the pristine one. The comparison of the performances and characteristics of two ZTCs, obtained by different BEA nanostructures, allow to correlate better the modification of the type of oxygen species present in ZTCs to the catalytic behavior. The results open new perspectives for the catalytic application of deoxygenated ZTCs.
Impurities in Organometallic Catalysis
2022, Comprehensive Organometallic Chemistry IV: Volume 1-15
There have been reports of reactions taking place under unprecedented conditions, such as mainstream transition-metal catalyzed reactions being performed in the absence of any metal catalyst, or reactions traditionally performed with one particular metal catalyst now working with a very different element. In many of these cases, a thorough assessment of the reaction conditions has shown that the reaction does not proceed by a novel pathway but instead takes place via the traditional route due to the presence of impurities in the mixture. After a historical perspective on the topic, a number of case studies of where impurities are responsible for catalytic activity are presented, highlighting some general themes, and outlining some of the tools used by chemists to get to the root of the problem and avoid the pitfalls.
The effect of black carbon on the chemical degradability of PCB1 via TENAX desorption technology from the perspective of adsorption states
2022, Chemosphere
Chemical degradation is one of the crucial methods for the remediation of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) in soil/sediment. The sequestration effect of black carbon (BC) can affect the adsorption state of HOCs, thereby affecting their chemical degradability. Our study focused on the chemical degradability of 2-Chlorobiphenyl (PCB1) sequestrated on the typical BC (fly ash (FC), soot (SC), low-temperature biochar (BC400) and high-temperature biochar (BC900)) by iron-nickel bimetallic nanomaterials (nZVI/Ni) based on TENAX desorption technology. The results showed that PCB1 adsorbed in various states were simultaneously dechlorinated by nZVI/Ni. Specifically, rapid-desorption-state PCB1 tended to degrade more easily than resistant-desorption-state PCB1. Moreover, the degradation mechanism varied according to the type of BC. In the case of FC and SC, the degradation rate was lower than the desorption rate for the PCB1 in rapid and slow desorption states, and the degradation rate of PCB1 in the resistant desorption state was negligible. The PCB1 on FC and SC was first desorbed from BC and then degraded. However, in terms of BC400 and BC900, the degradation rate was higher than the desorption rate, and the degradation rate of the resistant-desorption-state PCB1 was 1.4 × 10⁻² h⁻¹ and 4.1 × 10⁻² h⁻¹, respectively. The graphitized structure of BC900 can directly transfer electrons, so more than 90% of the resistant-desorption-state PCB1 could be degraded. In addition, BC may affect the longevity of nZVI/Ni, thereby affecting its degradability. Therefore, the chemical degradability of BC-adsorbed HOCs should be comprehensively evaluated based on the adsorption state and the properties of BC.

View all citing articles on Scopus

View full text

Applied Materials Today

ReviewElectrochemical catalysis at low dimensional carbons: Graphene, carbon nanotubes and beyond – A review

Highlights

Abstract

Graphical abstract

Section snippets

Low dimensional carbons: carbon nanotubes and graphenes

Influence of impurities on electrochemistry of carbon nanotubes and graphenes

Electrochemical studies of 3D hybrid nanomaterials

Conclusions

Acknowledgement

Solid State Commun.

Appl. Mater. Today

Electroanalysis

Talanta

Carbon

Chem. Phys. Lett.

Carbon

Appl. Mater. Today

Appl. Mater. Today

Electrochem. Commun.

J. Electroanal. Chem.

Chem. Phys. Lett.

Appl. Mater. Today

Appl. Mater. Today

Nano Lett.

Nat. Nanotechnol.

Appl. Phys. Lett.

Science

Science

Nat. Mater.

Nature

Nano Lett.

Chem. Eur. J.

ACS Nano

Nature

ACS Nano

J. Electroanal. Chem. Interfacial Electrochem.

Anal. Chem.

Adv. Mater.

Electroanalysis

Electroanalysis

Electroanalysis

Electroanalysis

Electroanalysis

Electroanalysis

Electroanalysis

Electroanalysis

J. Am. Chem. Soc.

J. Am. Chem. Soc.

ACS Nano

Electroanalysis

Acc. Chem. Res.

Chem. Rev.

Chem. Rev.

Chem. Commun.

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.

Anal. Chem.

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.

Chem. Commun.

ChemCatChem

Review
Electrochemical catalysis at low dimensional carbons: Graphene, carbon nanotubes and beyond – A review