Graphene oxide has been used widely as a starting precursor for applications that cater to the needs of tunable graphene. However, the hydrophilic characteristic limits their application, especially in a hydrophobic c...Graphene oxide has been used widely as a starting precursor for applications that cater to the needs of tunable graphene. However, the hydrophilic characteristic limits their application, especially in a hydrophobic condition. Herein, a novel non-covalent surface modification approach towards graphene oxide was conducted via a UV-induced photo-polymerization technique that involves two major routes; a UV-sensitive initiator embedded via pi-pi interactions on the graphene planar rings, and the polymerization of hydrophobic polymeric chains along the surface. The functionalized graphene oxide successfully achieved the desired hydrophobicity as it displayed the characteristic of being readily dissolved in organic solvent. Upon its addition into a polymeric solution and subjected to an electrospinning process,non-woven random nanofibers embedded with graphene oxide sheets were obtained. The prepared polymeric nanofibers were subjected to two-step thermal treatments that eventually converted the polymeric chains into a carbon-rich conductive structure. A unique morphology was observed upon the addition of the functionalized graphene oxide, whereby the sheets were embedded and intercalated within the carbon nanofibers and formed a continuous structure. This reinforcement effectively enhanced the electrochemical performance of the carbon nanofibers by recording a specific capacitance of up to 140.10 F/g at the current density of 1 A/g, which was approximately three folds more than that of pristine nanofibers.It also retained the capacitance up to 96.2% after 1000 vigorous charge/discharge cycles. This functionalization technique opens up a new pathway in tuning the solubility nature of graphene oxide towards the synthesis of a graphene oxide-reinforced polymeric structure.展开更多
Self-assembled nanorod of vanadium oxide bundles were synthesized by treating bulk V2O5 with high intensity sonochemical technique. The synthesized materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, scanning e...Self-assembled nanorod of vanadium oxide bundles were synthesized by treating bulk V2O5 with high intensity sonochemical technique. The synthesized materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, scanning electron microscope （SEM）, transmission electron microscope （TEM） and temperature-programmed reduction （TPR） in H2. Catalytic behaviour of the materials over anaerobic n-butane oxidation was studied through temperature-programmed reaction （TPRn）. Catalytic evaluation of the sonochemical treated V2O5 products was also studied on microreactor. XRD patterns of all the vanadium samples were perfectly indexed to V2O5. The morphologies of the nanorod vanadium oxides as shown in SEM and TEM depended on the duration of the ultrasound irradiation. Prolonging the ultrasound irradiation duration resulted in materials with uniform, well defined shapes and surface structures and smaller size of nanorod vanadium oxide bundles. H2-TPR profiles showed that larger amount of oxygen species were removed from the nanorod V2O5 compared to the bulk. Furthermore, the nanorod vanadium oxide bundles, which were produced after 90, 120 and 180 min of sonochemical treatment, showed an additional reduction peak at lower temperature （-850 K）, suggesting the presence of some highly active oxygen species. TPRn in n-butane/He over these materials showed that the nanorod V2O5 with highly active oxygen species showed markedly higher activity than the bulk material, which was further proven by catalytic oxidation of n-butane.展开更多
文摘Graphene oxide has been used widely as a starting precursor for applications that cater to the needs of tunable graphene. However, the hydrophilic characteristic limits their application, especially in a hydrophobic condition. Herein, a novel non-covalent surface modification approach towards graphene oxide was conducted via a UV-induced photo-polymerization technique that involves two major routes; a UV-sensitive initiator embedded via pi-pi interactions on the graphene planar rings, and the polymerization of hydrophobic polymeric chains along the surface. The functionalized graphene oxide successfully achieved the desired hydrophobicity as it displayed the characteristic of being readily dissolved in organic solvent. Upon its addition into a polymeric solution and subjected to an electrospinning process,non-woven random nanofibers embedded with graphene oxide sheets were obtained. The prepared polymeric nanofibers were subjected to two-step thermal treatments that eventually converted the polymeric chains into a carbon-rich conductive structure. A unique morphology was observed upon the addition of the functionalized graphene oxide, whereby the sheets were embedded and intercalated within the carbon nanofibers and formed a continuous structure. This reinforcement effectively enhanced the electrochemical performance of the carbon nanofibers by recording a specific capacitance of up to 140.10 F/g at the current density of 1 A/g, which was approximately three folds more than that of pristine nanofibers.It also retained the capacitance up to 96.2% after 1000 vigorous charge/discharge cycles. This functionalization technique opens up a new pathway in tuning the solubility nature of graphene oxide towards the synthesis of a graphene oxide-reinforced polymeric structure.
文摘Self-assembled nanorod of vanadium oxide bundles were synthesized by treating bulk V2O5 with high intensity sonochemical technique. The synthesized materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, scanning electron microscope （SEM）, transmission electron microscope （TEM） and temperature-programmed reduction （TPR） in H2. Catalytic behaviour of the materials over anaerobic n-butane oxidation was studied through temperature-programmed reaction （TPRn）. Catalytic evaluation of the sonochemical treated V2O5 products was also studied on microreactor. XRD patterns of all the vanadium samples were perfectly indexed to V2O5. The morphologies of the nanorod vanadium oxides as shown in SEM and TEM depended on the duration of the ultrasound irradiation. Prolonging the ultrasound irradiation duration resulted in materials with uniform, well defined shapes and surface structures and smaller size of nanorod vanadium oxide bundles. H2-TPR profiles showed that larger amount of oxygen species were removed from the nanorod V2O5 compared to the bulk. Furthermore, the nanorod vanadium oxide bundles, which were produced after 90, 120 and 180 min of sonochemical treatment, showed an additional reduction peak at lower temperature （-850 K）, suggesting the presence of some highly active oxygen species. TPRn in n-butane/He over these materials showed that the nanorod V2O5 with highly active oxygen species showed markedly higher activity than the bulk material, which was further proven by catalytic oxidation of n-butane.
