Effect of the graphitic degree of carbon supports on the catalytic performance of ammonia synthesis over Ba-Ru-K/HSGC catalyst

A series of high surface area graphitic carbon materials （HSGCs） were prepared by ball-milling method. Effect of the graphitic degree of HSGCs on the catalytic performance of Ba-Ru-K/HSGC-x （x is the ball-milling time in hour） catalysts was studied using ammonia synthesis as a probe reaction. The graphitic degree and pore structure of HSGC-x supports could be successfully tuned via the variation of ball-milling time. Ru nanoparticles of different Ba-Ru-K/HSGC-x catalysts are homogeneously distributed on the supports with the particle sizes ranging from 1.6 to 2.0 nm. The graphitic degree of the support is closely related to its facile electron transfer capability and so plays an important role in improving the intrinsic catalytic performance of Ba-Ru-K/HSGC-x catalyst.

Effect of graphitization degree of fuel cell gas diffusion layers on their heat management:Modeling and experiments

Serving as gas diffusion layers(GDLs),the thermal conductivity of carbon paper(CP)plays a significant role in the heat transfer management in fuel cells.In the present study,the effect of graphitization degree of CP on its through plane thermal conductivity and in-plane thermal conductivity is investigated.The relationship between heat treatment temperatures(1800,2000,2200,2400 and 2500℃)and graphitization degree is also investigated by SEM,XRD and Raman measurements.A model for CP under different graphitization degree is suggested considering the thermal conductivity difference of carbon fiber and matrix carbon.The experimental and simulation results are compared.The results show that the graphitization degree has a significant impact on the through-plane thermal conductivity and in plane thermal conductivity.

Preparation and mechanical properties of carbon/carbon composites with high textured pyrolytic carbon matrix

Short carbon fiber felts with an initial porosity of 89.5% were deposited by isobaric, isothermal chemical vapor infiltration using natural gas as carbon source. The bulk density of the deposited carbon/carbon （C/C） composites was 1.89 g/cm3 after depositing for 150 h. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the C/C composites were studied by polarized light microscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and three-point bending test. The results reveal that high textured pyrolytic carbon is deposited as the matrix of the composites, whose crystalline thickness and graphitization degree highly increase after heat treatment. A distinct decrease of the flexural strength and modulus accompanied by the increase of the toughness of the C/C composites is found to be correlated with the structural changes in the composites during the heat treatment process.

Catalytic graphitization of PAN-based carbon fibers with electrodeposited Ni-Fe alloy

Ni-Fe alloy was electrodeposited on the surface of polyacrylonitrile （PAN）-based carbon fibers, and catalytic graphitization effect of the heat-treated carbon fibers was investigated by X-ray diffractometry and Raman spectra. It is found that Ni-Fe alloy exhibits significant catalytic effect on the graphitization of the carbon fibers at low temperatures. The degree of graphitization of the carbon fibers coated with Ni-Fe alloy （57.91% Fe, mass fraction） reaches 69.0% through heat treatment at 1 250 °C. However, the degree of graphitization of the carbon fibers without Ni-Fe alloy is only 30.1% after being heat-treated at 2 800 °C. The catalytic effect of Ni-Fe alloy on graphitization of carbon fibers is better than that of Ni or Fe at the same temperature, indicating that Ni and Fe elements have synergic catalytic function. Furthermore, Fe content in the Ni-Fe alloy also influences catalytic effect. The catalytic graphitization of Ni-Fe alloy follows the dissolution-precipitation mechanism.

Polyaniline-derived carbon nanofibers with a high graphitization degree loading ordered PtNi intermetallic nanoparticles for oxygen reduction reaction

At present,the catalysts commercially used for the oxygen reduction reaction of the cathode of proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs)are carbon-supported platinum-based catalysts.However,the carbon supports are susceptible to corrosion under harsh working conditions,which greatly shortens the life of the catalysts.Highly stable carbon supports are urgently required for high-performance PEMFCs.In this work,we developed structure-stable and highly graphitized three-dimensional network carbon nanofibers(CNF)derived from polyaniline by heat treatment at 1200℃.The CNF-1200-based catalyst(PtNi/CNF-1200)loaded with PtNi nanoparticles showed excellent stability.After 5000 cycles from 1.0 to 1.5 V in oxygen saturated 0.1 M HClO_(4) electrolyte,the losses in the half-wave potential and mass activity were only 5 mV and 15%,respectively,far lower than those of commercial Pt/C.The high graphitization degree of CNF-1200 promotes the corrosion resistance of the catalyst.In addition,nitrogen doping effectively facilitates the catalyst–support interaction,stabilizes the highly dispersed PtNi nanoparticles,and improves the stability and activity of PtNi/CNF-1200.

Raman spectroscopy investigation of structural and textural change in C/C composites during braking

The microstructure and texture of C/C composites with a resin-derived carbon, a rough laminar （RL） pyrocarbon and a smooth laminar pyrocarbon, before and after braking tests, were investigated by Raman spectroscopy. The full width at half maximum （FWHM） of the D-band indicates the amount of defects in the in-plane lattice, while the G-to-D band intensity （peak area） ratios （lC/ID） is used to evaluate the degree of graphitization. The results show that the FWHM of D-band of sample with RL pyrocarbon changes greatly from 36 cm-1 to 168 cm 1 after braking tests, which indicates that a large number of lattice defects are produced on its wear surface. However, the graphitization degree of resin-derived carbon sample rises significantly, because the IC/1D increases from 0.427 to 0.928. Braking tests under normal loading conditions, involving high temperature and high pressure, produce a lot of lattice defects on the wear surface, and induce the graphitization of the surface. Sample with RL pyrocarbon having a low hardness is easy to deform, and has the most lattice defects on the wear surface after braking. While raw materials with resin-derived carbon have the lowest graphitization degree which rises greatly during braking.

Synthesis of carbon nanofibers by ethanol catalytic combustion technique

A general, simple and economic synthetic method for synthesizing carbon nanofibers was presented. In the method, ethanol was employed as carbon source; metal salts such as nickel nitrate, ferric nitrate and ferric chloride were used as catalyst precursor respectively; copper plate was employed as the support material. A lot of products were obtained by catalytic combustion deposition of ethanol vapor. Then the as-prepared carbon nanofibers were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy and selected-area electron diffractometry. By analyzing the results of characterization, the conclusions are as follows: 1) the large catalyst particles tend to form large-diameter CNFs, small catalyst particles are inclinable to form small-diameter CNFs; 2) the morphology of the catalyst can affect the final morphology of the CNFs. Moreover, the possible growth mechanisms were proposed and the degree of graphitization of samples was estimated by Raman spectroscopy characterization.

Influence of order degree of coaly graphite on its structure change during preparation of graphene oxide

Coaly graphite is an important natural graphite resource that derived from coal under a natural process that associated with igneous intrusion.Flake graphite is usually used for the chemical synthesis of graphene oxide(GO),the main precursor for preparation of graphene,but few papers pay attention to preparing GO using coaly graphite.In this paper,four kinds of natural coaly graphite with different graphitization degrees were exposed to a modified Hummer’s oxidation method to prepare GO.The flake graphite sample was also used for comparison.The results showed that the structural change process from graphite to GO were significantly affected by the graphitization degree of the original coaly graphite.The relationship between yields of GO and graphitization degrees of the coaly graphite was explored.The mechanism of why the graphite with low graphitization degrees cannot be totally oxidized was proposed.Coaly graphite with a graphitization degree of higher than 80% was easier to be oxidized and yielded the same amount of GO as the flake graphite did,suggesting it is the potential substitute for the flake graphite to produce GO in bulk quantities.

Variations in surface functional groups, carbon chemical state and graphitization degree during thermal deactivation of diesel soot particles

The thermal deactivation of diesel soot particles exerts a significant influence on the control strategy for the regeneration of diesel particulate filters(DPFs).This work focused on the changes in the surface functional groups,carbon chemical state,and graphitization degree during thermal treatment in an inert gas environment at intermediate temperatures of 600℃,800℃,and 1000℃ and explore the chemical species that were desorbed from the diesel soot surface during thermal treatment using a thermogravimetric analyser coupled with a gas-chromatograph mass spectrometer(TGA-GC/MS).The surface functional groups and carbon chemical statewere characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR)and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS).The graphitization degree was evaluated by means of Raman spectroscopy(RS).The concentrations of aliphatic C–H,C–OH,C=O,and O–C=O groups are reduced for diesel soot and carbon black when increasing the thermal treatment temperature,while the sp^(2)/sp^(3) hybridized ratio and graphitization degree enhance.These results provide comprehensive evidence of the decreased reactivity of soot samples.Among oxygenated functional groups,the percentage reduction during thermal treatment is the largest for the O–C=O groups owing to its worst thermodynamic stability.TGA-GC/MS results show that the aliphatic and aromatic chains and oxygenated species would be desorbed from the soot surface during 1000℃ thermal treatment of diesel soot.

Low-temperature-pyrolysis preparation of nanostructured graphite towards rapid potassium storage with high initial Coulombic efficiency

Industrially prepared artificial graphite(AG)is attractive for potassium-ion batteries(PIBs),but its rate performance is poor and the production process is energy intensive,so developing an efficient strategy to produce novel graphite with low energy consumption and high performance is economically important.Herein,a nanostructured graphite composed of multi-walled carbon nanotubes(MWCNTs)and graphite shells was prepared by one-pot method through low-temperature pyrolysis of iron-based metal-organic framework(MOF)and carbon source.The high graphitization degree of nanostructured graphite makes the initial Coulombic efficiency(ICE)exceed 80%,and the three-dimensional(3D)conductive network ensures a specific capacity of 234 mAh·g^(−1)after 1000 cycles at a high current density of 500 mA·g^(−1).In addition,the typical graphite potassium storage mechanism is also demonstrated by in situ X-ray diffraction(XRD)and in situ Raman spectroscopy,and its practicality is also proved by the voltage of the full cells.This work provides a feasible way to optimize the practical production process of AG and expand its application in energy storage.

Effects of degree of graphitization of C shells on microwave absorption of Fe-C core-shell nanoparticles with excellent comparability

In this study,Fe-C core-shell nanoparticles with identical metal core sizes and C shell thicknesses but varying degrees of graphitization of C shells were fabricated using metal-organic chemical vapor depo-sition and subsequent annealing.Due to the identical metal core,these nanoparticles exhibite a similar permeability,but significantly varying permittivity depending on how much C shells have been graphi-tized.It was discovered that proper graphitization of Fe-C nanoparticles annealed at 1350 ℃ can pro-duce excellent microwave absorption(MA),decent dielectric loss tangent in high frequency region,and moderately strong dielectric loss and attenuation properties.Furthermore,the threshold value of 1/ω is discovered to be a crucial parameter in the theoretical analysis of nonlinear behavior of polarization loss,and thus MA performance of the nanoparticles.This research offers a useful method for creating metal-C nanoparticles with various levels of C shell graphitization.It also provides a clear answer to the crucial question of how the level of C shell graphitization affects the MA performance of metal-C nanoparticles.These results may serve as a reference for the development and mechanism analysis of highly effective metal-C based absorbers.

Experimental research on semi-coke for blast furnace injection

The combustion properties and grindability of Shenmu low-rank coal(SM)and its four different semi-cokes were studied by the self-designed equipment and Hardgrove method.The four semi-cokes were obtained under the pyrolysis temperature of 400,500,600 and 700℃,named as SM-400,SM-500,SM-600 and SM-700,respectively.The analyses of nitrogen adsorp-tion,Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR)spectra and Raman spectra were carried out to explain the change in combustion ratio and grindability.The result showed that the specific surface area of samples had an essential effect on the combustion ratio of SM-400 and SM-500.Meanwhile,the grindability depended on the strength of coal matrix,and the augment of pore amounts would increase the grindability.The functional groups and graphitization degree of the same sam-ple were identical with the combustion ratio.With the pyrolysis upgrading temperature increasing,the combustion ratio of sample decreased,corresponding to the decrease in the benzene ring and the increase in graphitization degree.In addition,the thermogravimetric analysis was carried out,and the result was compared against what was shown in the data of com-bustion ratio.For pulverized coal injection,the combustion ratio was more intuitive and more accurate than combustibility.

Effect of process conditions on the synthesis of carbon nanotubes by catalytic decomposition of methane

A new dual-composition catalyst based on Ni-Mo/MgO with high efficiency of producing carbon nanotubes （CNTs） from methane was reported recently. In the present article, with this type of catalyst, the impact of such experimental parameters as reaction temperature, reaction time, concentration of H2, flow rate ratio of CH4 to H2 on yield and graphitization were investigated, leading to the following optimal growth conditions： reaction time 60min, reaction temperature 900℃, CH4：H2 about 100：20mL/min, under which high-yield multi-walled CNTs bundles were synthesized. Raman measurement indicated that the as-synthesized product was well-graphitized, and the purity was estimated over 95% by TG-DSC analysis. In terms of the above results, an explanation of high-efficiency formation of CNTs bundles and the co-catalysis mechanism of Ni-Mo/MgO were suggested. 2007 Chinese Societv of Particuology and Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V.