Comparative Analysis of Statistical Thickness Models for the Determination of the External Specific Surface and the Surface of the Micropores of Materials: The Case of a Clay Concrete Stabilized Using Sugar Cane Molasses

In this work, four empirical models of statistical thickness, namely the models of Harkins and Jura, Hasley, Carbon Black and Jaroniec, were compared in order to determine the textural properties (external surface and surface of micropores) of a clay concrete without molasses and clay concretes stabilized with 8%, 12% and 16% molasses. The results obtained show that Hasley’s model can be used to obtain the external surfaces. However, it does not allow the surface of the micropores to be obtained, and is not suitable for the case of simple clay concrete (without molasses) and for clay concretes stabilized with molasses. The Carbon Black, Jaroniec and Harkins and Jura models can be used for clay concrete and stabilized clay concrete. However, the Carbon Black model is the most relevant for clay concrete and the Harkins and Jura model is for molasses-stabilized clay concrete. These last two models augur well for future research.

Low temperature solid-phase sintering of sintered metal fibrous media with high specific surface area

A procedure of low temperature solid-phase sintering（LTSS） was carried out to fabricate sintered metal fibrous media（SMFM） with high specific surface area.Stainless steel fibers which were produced by cutting process were first plated with a coarse copper coating layer by electroless plating process.A low-temperature sintering process was then completed at about 800 °C for 1 h under the protection of hydrogen atmosphere.The results show that a novel SMFM with complex surface morphology and high specific surface area（0.2 m2/g） can be obtained in this way.The effect of sintering temperature on the surface morphology and specific surface area of SMFM was studied by means of scanning electron microscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller.The damage of micro-structure during the sintering process mainly contributed to the loss of specific surface area of SMFM and the optimal sintering temperature was 800 °C.

Metal-Free C_(3)N_(4) with plentiful nitrogen vacancy and increased specific surface area for electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction

As a substitute for synthetic ammonia under mild condition, electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction(NRR) provides a hopeful approach for the development of ammonia. Nevertheless, the current development of NRR electrocatalysts is far from enough and a systematic research is needed to gain a better improvement. This article presents that 2 D C_(3)N_(4)-NV with a large specific surface area and abundant nitrogen vacancies is prepared by a simple and feasible method, and used as a metal-free catalyst for electrocatalytic NRR. Experiment result and density functional theory(DFT) calculation reveal that nitrogen vacancies in 2 D C_(3)N_(4)-NV can act as an efficient active site for catalytic NRR, which is conducive to capturing and activating N_(2), lowering Gibbs free energy(DG) in reaction and inhibiting hydrogen evolution reaction(HER) at the same time. In addition, the larger specific surface area also makes more active site exposed, which is good for the contact between the electrolyte and the active site, thus enhancing its NRR activity. The electrocatalyst shows an excellent catalytic activity for NRR in 0.1 M HCl, including Faradaic efficiency of 10.96%, NH_(3) yields of 17.85 lg h^(-1) mg_(cat)^(-1)., and good stability(over 20 h).

Nickel catalysts supported on MgO with different specific surface area for carbon dioxide reforming of methane

In this paper, three kinds of MgO with different specific surface area were prepared, and their effects on the catalytic performance of nickel catalysts for the carbon dioxide reforming of methane were investigated. The results showed that MgO support with the higher specific surface area led to the higher dispersion of the active metal, which resulted in the higher initial activity. On the other hand, the specific surface area of MgO materials might not be the dominant factor for the basicity of support to chemisorb and activate CO2, which was another important factor for the performance of catalysts. Herein, Ni/MgO(CA) catalyst with proper specific surface area and strong ability to activate CO2exhibited stable catalytic property and the carbon species deposited on the Ni/MgO(CA) catalyst after 10 h of reaction at 650 ?C were mainly activated carbon species.

Study on Preparation of Rice Husk Ash with High Specific Surface Area and Its Chemical Reactivity

Preparation of rice husk ash with high specific surface area and chemical reactivity of the product are reported in this paper. The amorphous rice husk ash with high specific surface area of 311 m2·g-1 was produced by heating acid treated rice husk at 700℃ for 4 h. The isotherms of rice husk ash are similar in shape to type Ⅱof Brunaner's classification with mesopores being predominant. The rice husk ash has a high chemical reactivity,especially that pretreated with acid. This chemical reactivity depends on ashing temperature and pretreatment conditions. There is an exponential relation between the specific surface area of rice husk ash and the change in the conductivity of saturated Ca(OH)2 solution with rice husk ash, from which the specific surface area can be known according to the conductivity change.

Relationship between the specific surface area of rust and the electrochemical behavior of rusted steel in a wet–dry acid corrosion environment

The relationship between the specific surface area（SSA） of rust and the electrochemical behavior of rusted steel under wet-dry acid corrosion conditions was investigated. The results showed that the corrosion current density first increased and then decreased with increasing SSA of the rust during the corrosion process. The structure of the rust changed from single-layer to double-layer, and the γ-FeOOH content decreased in the inner layer of the rust with increasing corrosion time; by contrast, the γ-FeOOH content in the outer layer was constant. When the SSA of the rust was lower than the critical SSA corresponding to the relative humidity during the drying period, condensed water in the micropores of the rust could evaporate, which prompted the diffusion of O_2 into the rust and the following formation process of γ-FeOOH, leading to an increase of corrosion current density with increasing corrosion time. However, when the SSA of the rust reached or exceeded the critical SSA, condensate water in the micro-pores of the inner layer of the rust could not evaporate which inhibited the diffusion of O_2 and decreased the γ-FeOOH content in the inner rust, leading to a decrease of corrosion current density with increasing corrosion time.

Effects of Specific Surface Area and Impurities of Reactive Alumina on Properties of Corundum Based Castables

Effects of specific surface area and tiny amount of impurities of reactive alumina on the workability, sinte- ring and high temperature mechanical strength of corun- dum based castables were investigated. The results show that the presence of reactive alumina with high specific surface area leads to accelerating of the hydration of calcium aluminate cement, thus shortening the working time and setting time of the castables, which can be as- cribed that the critical energy barrier for stable nuclei of hydration products of cement can be reduced by the high specific surface area of reactive alumina. The sintering of the corundum based castables can be accelerated by the reactive alumina with high specific surface area and high amount of impurities, however, the reactive alumina with too high specific surface area and impurities can al- so lead to noticeable shrinkage of castables. In addition, high temperature mechanical strength of corundum based castables can be decreased by the higher amount of trace impurities of reactive alumina due to formation of low- melting phase at high temperatures.

A statistical reappraisal of the relationship between liquid limit and specific surface area, cation exchange capacity and activity of clays

More than 500 datasets from the literature have been used to evaluate the relationships of specific surface area (SSA),cation exchange capacity (CEC) and activity versus the liquid limit (LL).The correlations gave R^2 values ranging between 0.71 and 0.92.Independent data were also used to validate the correlations.Estimated SSA values slightly overestimate the measured SSA up to 100 m^2/g.Regarding the estimated CEC values,they overestimated the measured CEC values up to 20 meq/(100 g).A probabilistic approach was performed for the correlations of SSA,CEC and activity versus LL.The analysis shows that the relations of SSA,CEC and activity with LL are robust.Using the LL values,it is possible to assess other basic engineering properties of clays.

Measurement of Specific Surface Area of Ceramisite Made from River Sediment

Principle and method of measuring Specific Surface Area (SSA) of ceramisite made from dredged river sediment, sewage sludge and adherent materials are discussed. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller Procedure tests SSA of the ceramisite. Influences of sewage sludge content, adherent content and sintering point on the SSA of ceramisite made of river sediment are also analyzed. Results show that with the right sewage sludge content, adherent content and sintering point, the ceramisite can have the highest SSA value and be widely used.

Preparation of activated carbon with low ash content and high specific surface area from coal in the presence of KOH

An activated carbon with ash content less than 10% and specific surface area more than 1 600 m 2 /g was prepared from coal and the effect of K containing compounds in preparation of coal based activated carbon was investigated in detail in this paper. KOH was used in co carbonization with coal, changes in graphitic crystallites in chars derived from carbonization of coal with and without KOH were analyzed by X ray diffraction (XRD) technique, activation rates of chars with different contents of K containing compounds were deduced, and resulting activated carbons were characterized by nitrogen adsorption isotherms at 77 K and iodine numbers. The results showed that the addition of KOH to the coal before carbonization can realize the intensive removal of inorganic matters from chars under mild conditions, especially the efficient removal of dispersive quartz, an extremely difficult separated mineral component in other processes else. Apart from this, KOH demonstrates a favorable effect in control over coal carbonization with the goal to form nongraphitizable isotropic carbon precursor, which is a necessary prerequisite for the formation and development of micro pores. However, the K containing compounds such as K 2 CO 3 and K 2 O remaining in chars after carbonization catalyze the reaction between carbon and steam in activation, which leads to the formation of macro pores. In the end an innovative method, in which KOH is added to coal before carbonization and K containing compounds are removed by acid washing after carbonization, was proposed for the synthesis of quality coal based activated carbon.

Effects of specific surface area of metallic nickel particles on carbon deposition kinetics

Carbon deposition on nickel powders in methane involves three stages in different reaction temperature ranges. Temperature programing oxidation test and Raman spectrum results indicated the formation of complex and ordered carbon structures at high deposition temperatures. The values of I（D）/I（G） of the deposited carbon reached 1.86, 1.30, and 1.22 in the first, second, and third stages, respectively. The structure of carbon in the second stage was similar to that in the third stage. Carbon deposited in the first stage rarely contained homogeneous pyrolytic deposit layers. A kinetic model was developed to analyze the carbon deposition behavior in the first stage. The rate-determining step of the first stage is supposed to be interfacial reaction. Based on the investigation of carbon deposition kinetics on nickel powders from different resources, carbon deposition rate is suggested to have a linear relation with the square of specific surface area of nickel particles.

Construction of the hierarchical porous biochar with an ultrahigh specific surface area for application in high-performance lithium-ion capacitor cathode

Biochar with a highly accessible specific surface area can display a higher performance when it is used as the cathode of lithium-ion capacitors.Facing the complex composition and diversity of biomass precursors,there is a lack of a universally applicable method to construct hierarchical porous biochar controllably.In this work,a multi-stage activation strategy combining the feature of different activation methods is proposed for this target.To confirm the porous characteristic in prepared samples,N_(2) adsorption-desorption and transmission electron microscope were used.As the optimal sample,BC-P3K4S had the highest specific surface area of 3583.3 m^(2) g^(−1).Evaluated as the electrode for a lithium-ion capacitor,BC-P3K4S displayed a capacity of 139.1 mAh g^(−1) at 0.1 A g^(−1).After coupling it with pre-lithiated hard carbon,the full device exhibited a high energy density of 129.3 W h kg^(−1) at 153 W kg^(−1).The work outlined herein offers some insights into the preparation of hierarchical porous biochar from complex biomass by multistep activation method.

A comparative study of the specific surface area and pore structure of different shales and their kerogens

The pore structures and controlling factors of several different Paleozoic shales from Southern China and their kerogens were studied using nitrogen adsorption and scanning electron microscopy methods. The results indicate that： 1） The specific surface area is 2.22-3.52 m2/g and has no correlation with the TOC content of the Permian Dalong Formation shales, nanopores are extremely undeveloped in the Dalong Formation kerogens, which have specific surface areas of 20.35-27.49 me/g; 2） the specific surface area of the Silurian Longmaxi Formation shales is in the range of 17.83-29.49 m2/g and is positively correlated with TOC content, the kerogens from the Longmaxi Formation have well-developed nanopores, with round or elliptical shapes, and the specific surface areas of these kerogens are as high as 279.84-300.3 m2/g; 3） for the Niutitang Formation shales, the specific surface area is 20.12-29.49 m2/grock and increases significantly with increasing TOC and smectite content. The Niuti- tang Formation kerogens develop a certain amount of nanopores with a specific surface area of 161.2 m2/g. Oil shale was also examined for comparison, and was found to have a specific surface area of 19.99 m2/g. Nanopores are rare in the Youganwo Formation kerogen, which has a specific surface area of only 5.54 m2/g, suggesting that the specific surface area of oil shale is due mainly to the presence of smectite and other clay minerals. The specific surface area and the number of pores present in shales are closely related to TOC, kerogen type and maturity, smectite content, and other factors. Low-maturity kerogen has very few nanopores and therefore has a very low specific surface area, whereas nanopores are abundant in mature to over- mature kerogen, leading to high specific surface areas. The Longmaxi Formation kerogen has more developed nanopores and a higher specific surface area than the Niutitang Formation kerogen, which may be due to differences in the kerogen type and maceral components. A high content of smectite may also contribute to shale surface area. The pore volume and specific sur- face area of low-maturity kerogens are mainly attributable to pores with diameters above 10 nm. By contrast, the pore volume of mature kerogens consists predominantly of pores with diameters above 10 nm with some contribution from about 4 nm diameter pores, while the specific surface area is due mainly to pores with diameters of less than 4 nm. Through a comparative study of the specific surface area and pore structure characteristics of different shales and their kerogens, we conclude that the Longmaxi Formation shales and Niutitang Formation shales have greater sorption capacities than the Dalong Formation shales.

Well-dispersed NiCoS_(2) nanoparticles/rGO composite with a large specific surface area as an oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalyst

Developing efficient oxygen evolution reaction(OER) electrocatalysts such as transition metal sulfides(TMSs) is of great importance to advance renewable hydrogen fuel toward further practical applications.Herein,NiCoS_(2) nanoparticles well decorated on double-sided N-doped reduced graphene oxide sheets(NiCoS_(2)/rGO) are prepared from an Al-containing ternary NiCoAl-layered double hydroxide precursor(NiCoAl-LDH) grown on GO support as an OER electrocatalyst.The Al-confinementassisted sulfurization,followed by selective acid treatment,endows the resulting NiCoS_(2)/rGO composite with the advantages:well-dispersed NiCoS_(2) nanoparticles,dualsided rGO support,as well as a large specific surface area of 119.4 m^(2)·g^(-1) and meso-/macroporous size distribution.The NiCoS_(2)/rGO electrocatalyst exhibits an overpotential of 273 mV at 10 mA·cm^(-2) and a good stability of 24 h,which outperform those of the counterparts of NiS_(2)/rGO and CoS_(2)/rGO.The results of electrochemical active surface area and electrochemical impedance spectra experimentally provide convincing rationales of the information of active sites and good conductivity,both underpin the enhanced electrocatalytic performances.

The relationship between organic matter and specific surface area in <2 μm clay size fraction of muddy source rock

The adsorption of organic matter(OM)onto clay minerals has long been considered as a significant way of OM preservation in source rock.Here we analyzed the relationship between OM and the specific surface area(SSA)of <2μm clay size fraction isolated from 13 source rock cores collected from Dongying depression.Rock-Eval pyrolysis and N2 adsorption experiment were employed to probe the characteristics of OM and SSA(denoted SBET)in samples before and after OM extraction using trichloromethane.The results indicate that various kinds of OM occurrence coexist in clay size fraction and their contributions to hydrocarbon are different in each period of OM evolution.The occurrence and amount of OM affect the S BET of clay size fraction,and a nonlinear negative correlation between total organic carbon(TOC)and S BET can be recognized.The soluble OM(chloroform extract "A"),mainly stored in the pore space of clay size fraction,shows a negative correlation in amount with S BET.Our data also indicate that free hydrocarbon(S1)was stored mainly in the pore space and/or the surface of clay size fraction,whereas pyrolysis hydrocarbon(S2)was mingled mainly with clay minerals.Therefore,to understand various OM occurrences and their relationship with SBET in the clay size fraction is significant in the study of generation,accumulation,and migration of hydrocarbon in muddy source rock.

Improving Impact Toughness of Polylactide/Ethylene-co-vinyl-acetate Blends via Adding Fumed Silica Nanoparticles:Effects of Specific Surface Area-dependent Interfacial Selective Distribution of Silica

Adding fumed silica(Si0_(2))has been considered as an effective method for tailoring the phase morphology and performance of elastomer-toughened plastic binary blends.It has been demonstrated that the selective distribution of SiO_(2) plays a decisive role in the mechanical properties of plastic/elastomer/SiO_(2)nanocomposites,especially for the impact toughness.In this work,we aim to illuminate the role of specific surface area in controlling their selective distribution of fumed SiO_(2) and consequent mechanical properties of plastic/elastomer binary blends.Three types of SiO_(2) with different specific surface areas were incorporated into polylactide/ethylene-co-vinyl-acetate(PLA/EVA)model blends by melt blending directly.It was found that the selective distribution of SiO_(2) is largely determined by their specific surface areas,i.e.SiO_(2) nanoparticles with low specific surface area has a stronger tendency to be located at the interface between PLA matrix and EVA dispersed phase as compared to those with high specific surface area.The specific surface area-dependent interfacial selective distribution of SiO_(2) is mainly attributed to the extent of increased viscosity of EVA dispersed phase in which SiO_(2)nanoparticles are initially dispersed and resultant migration rate of SiO_(2) nanoparticles.The interfacial localized SiO_(2) nanoparticles induce an obvious enhancement in the impact toughness with strength and modulus well maintained.More importantly,in the case of the same interfacial distribution,toughening efficiency is increased with the specific surface area of SiO_(2).Therefore,this is an optimum specific surface area of SiO_(2) for the toughening.This work not only provides a novel way to manipulate the selective distribution of SiO_(2) in elastomer-toughened plastic blends toward high-performance,but also gives a deep insight into the role of interfacial localized nanoparticles in the toughening mechanism.

N,P-codoped porous carbon derived from chitosan with hierarchical N-enriched structure and ultra-high specific surface Area toward high-performance supercapacitors

In this work,a facile"carbonization-activation"strategy is developed to synthesize N,P-codoped hierarchical porous carbon.Phosphoric acid is innovatively introduced during the hydrothermal process to achieve in-situ P doping as well as create abundant pores,and the employment of sodamide is of vital importance to simultaneously serve as activating agent and N-source to succeed a high-level N doping.Thus,the obtained samples exhibit a unique three-dimensional hierarchical structure with an ultra-high specific surface area(3646 m^(2)g^(-1))and ultra-high N-doping level(9.81 at.%).Computational analyses confirm that N,P co-doping and higher N content can enhance active sites and widen potential differences of carbon materials to improve their capacitance.The as-prepared carbon materials demonstrate superior electrochemical performances,such as an ultra-high capacitance of 586 Fg^(-1)at 1 Ag^(-1),a superior rate capability of 409 Fg^(-1)at 20 Ag^(-1),and excellent long-term stability of 97%capacitance retention after10,000 cycles in 6 M KOH.Moreover,an assembled symmetric supercapacitor delivers a high energy density of 28.1 Wh kg^(-1)at the power density of 450 W kg^(-1)in 1 M Na_(2)SO_(4),demonstrating a great potential for applications in supercapacitors.

What are the practical limits for the specific surface area and capacitance of bulk sp^2 carbon materials?

The possible practical limits for the specific surface area and capacitance performance of bulk sp^2 carbon materials were investigated experimentally and theoretically using a variety of carbon materials. We find the limit for the specific surface area to be 3500–3700 m^2 g^(-1), and based on this, the corresponding best capacitance was predicted for various electrolyte systems. A model using an effective ionic diameter for the electrolyte ions was proposed and used to calculate the theoretical capacitance. A linear dependence of experimental capacitance versus effective specific surface area of various sp^2 carbon materials was obtained for all studied ionic liquid, organic and aqueous electrolyte systems. Furthermore, excellent agreement between the theoretical and experimental capacitance was observed for all the tested sp^2 carbon materials in these electrolyte systems, indicating that this model can be applied widely in the evaluation of various carbon materials for supercapacitors.

Machine learning predicting and engineering the yield,N content,and specific surface area of biochar derived from pyrolysis of biomass

Biochar produced from pyrolysis of biomass has been developed as a platform carbonaceous material that can be used in various applications.The specific surface area(SSA)and functionalities such as N-containing functional groups of biochar are the most significant properties determining the application performance of biochar as a carbon material in various areas,such as removal of pollutants,adsorption of CO_(2)and H2,catalysis,and energy storage.Producing biochar with preferable SSA and N functional groups is among the frontiers to engineer biochar materials.This study attempted to build machine learning models to predict and optimize specific surface area of biochar(SSA-char),N content of biochar(N-char),and yield of biochar(Yield-char)individually or simultaneously,by using elemental,proximate,and biochemical compositions of biomass and pyrolysis conditions as input variables.The predictions of Yield-char,N-char,and SSA-char were compared by using random forest(RF)and gradient boosting regression(GBR)models.GBR outperformed RF for most predictions.When input parameters included elemental and proximate compositions as well as pyrolysis conditions,the test R^(2) values for the single-target and multi-target GBR models were 0.90-0.95 except for the two-target prediction of Yield-char and SSA-char which had a test R^(2) of 0.84 and the three-target prediction model which had a test R^(2) of 0.81.As indicated by the Pearson correlation coefficient between variables and the feature importance of these GBR models,the top influencing factors toward predicting three targets were specified as follows:pyrolysis temperature,residence time,and fixed carbon for Yield-char;N and ash for N-char;ash and pyrolysis temperature for SSA-char.The effects of these parameters on three targets were different,but the trade-offs of these three were balanced during multi-target ML prediction and optimization.The optimum solutions were then experimentally verified,which opens a new way for designing smart biochar with target properties and oriented application potential.

Microfluidic synthesis of thiourea modified chitosan microsphere of high specific surface area for heavy metal wastewater treatment

An improved biosorbent of thiourea modified chitosan microsphere（TMCM） with high specific surface,favorable mechanical strength and excellent adsorption performance had been synthesized via microfluidic technology. Polyethylene glycol was used as a significant component added in aqueous solution of chitosan to produce such microspheres through droplets forming, chemical crosslinking and pores creating. For the improvement of adsorption capacity, thiourea was considered as an excellent choice in increasing amino functional group by graft modification. The SEM, FTIR and EDS were employed to detect distinct features of TMCM. Copper（Ⅱ） was used to test the adsorption performance of TMCM. The experimental results indicated that TMCM exhibited higher adsorption capacity（q_e= 60.6 mg g_（-1）） and faster adsorption rate than that non-modified chitosan microsphere（NMCM）.The adsorption kinetic was described well by the pseudo-second order kinetic model, which suggested that chemical adsorption along with electrons transferring was dominant in adsorption process.