Influence of Preparation Conditions on Structural Stability of Ordered Mesoporous Carbons Synthesized by Evaporation-induced Triconstituent Co-assembly Method

Various ordered mesoporous carbons （OMCs） have been prepared by evaporation-induced trieonstituent co-assembly method. Their mesostructural stability under different carbon content, aging time and acidity were conveniently monitored by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and N2 sorption isotherms techniques. The results show mesostruetural stability of OMCs is enhanced as the carbon content increases from 36% to 46%, further increasing carbon content deteriorates the mesostructural stability. Increasing aging time from 0.5 h to 5.0 h make the mesostructural stability go through an optimum （2.0 h） and gradually reduce framework shrinkage of the OMCs. Highly OMCs can only be obtained in the acidity range of 0.2-1.2 mol/L HC1, when the acidity is near the isoelectrie point of silica, the resulting OMCs have the best mesostructure stability. Under the optimum condition, the carbon content of 46%, aging time of 2.0 h, and 0.2 mol/L HCl, the resulting OMCs have the best mesostrueture stability and the highest BET surface areas of 2281 m2/g.

Nitrogen-doped cobalt nanoparticles/nitrogen-doped plate-like ordered mesoporous carbons composites as noble-metal free electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction

In this work, nitrogen-doped cobalt nanoparticlesinitrogen-doped plate-like ordered mesoporous carbons (N/Co/OMCs) were used as noble-metal free electrocatalysts with high catalytic efficiency. Compared with OMCs with long channel length, due to more entrances for catalytic target accessibility and a short pathway for rapid diffusion, the utilization efficiency of cobalt nanoparticles inside the plate-like OMCs with short pore length is well improved, which can take full advantage of porous structure in electrocatalysis and increase the utilization of catalysts. The active sites in N/Co/OMCs for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are highly exposed to oxygen molecule, which results in a high activity for ORR. By combination of the catalytic properties of nitrogen dopant, incorporation of Co nanoparticles, and structural properties of OMCs, the N/Co/plate-like OMCs are highly active noble-metal free catalysts for ORR in alkaline solution. (C) 2016 Science Press and Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press. All rights reserved.

Pt nanoparticles entrapped in ordered mesoporous carbons:An efficient catalyst for the liquid-phase hydrogenation of nitrobenzene and its derivatives

Pt nanoparticles entrapped in ordered mesoporous CMK-3 carbons with p6mm symmetry were prepared using a facile impregnation method, and the resulting materials were characterized using X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, N2 adsorption-desorption, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The Pt nanoparticles were highly dispersed in the CMK-3 with 43.7% dispersion. The Pt/CMK-3 catalyst was an effective catalyst for the liquid-phase hydrogenation of nitrobenzene and its derivatives under the experimental conditions studied here. The Pt/CMK-3 catalyst was more active than commercial Pt/C catalyst in most cases. A highest turnover frequency of 43.8 s-1 was measured when the Pt/CMK-3 catalyst was applied for the hydrogenation of 2-methyl-nitrobenzene in ethanol under optimal conditions. It is worthy of note that the Pt/CMK-3 catalyst could be recycled easily, and could be reused at least fourteen times without any loss in activity or selectivity for the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene in ethanol.

Effect of the pore length and orientation upon the electrochemical capacitive performance of ordered mesoporous carbons

By utilizing hard template method to adjust the mesopore length, and alkali activation to generate micro pores, two hierarchical porous carbons (HPCs) were prepared. With controlling of their mesopore length and the activation conditions, the complex system composed by HPCs and electrolyte was simplified and the effect of mesopore length on the performance of HPCs as electrodes in supercapacitors was investigated. It is found that with the mesopore length getting smaller, the ordered area gets smaller and the aggregation occurs, which is caused by the high surface energy of small grains. HPC with long pores (HPCL) exhibits a donut-like morphology with well-defined ordered mesopores and a regular orientation while in HPC with short pores (HPCS), short mesopores are only orderly distributed in small regions. Longer ordered channels form unobstructed ways for ions transport in the particles while shorter channels, only orderly distributed in small areas, results in blocked paths, which may hinder the electrolyte ions transport. Due to the unobstructed structure, HPCL exhibits good rate capability with a capacitance retention rate over 86% as current density increasing from 50 mA/g to 1000 mA/g. The specific capacitance of HPCL derived from the cyclic voltammetry test at 10 mV/s is up to 201.72 F/g, while the specific capacitance of HPCS is only 193.65 F/g. (C) 2016 Science Press and Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press. All rights reserved.

The self-assembly of gold nanoparticles in large-pore ordered mesoporous carbons

Simple encapsulation of 3 nm gold nanoparticles in ordered mesoporous carbon with large pores of 17 nm and thick pore walls of 16 nm was achieved by a metal–ligand coordination assisted-selfassembly approach.Polystyrene-block-polyethylene-oxide(PS-b-PEO)diblock copolymer with a large molecular weight of the PS chain and mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane were used as the template and the metal ligand,respectively.Small-angle X-ray scattering,X-ray diffraction,transmission electron microscopy,and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that monodispersed aggregation-free gold nanoparticles approximately 3 nm in size were partially embedded in the large open pore structure of the ordered mesoporous carbon.The strong coordination between the gold species and the mercapto groups and the thick porous walls increased the dispersion of the gold nanoparticles and essentially inhibited particle aggregation at 600℃.The gold nanoparticles in the ordered mesoporous carbon are active and stable in the reduction of nitroarenes involving bulky molecules using sodium borohydride as a reducing agent under ambient conditions(30℃)in water.The large interconnected pore structure facilitates the mass transfer of bulky molecules.

Encapsulating polysulfide with high pyridinic nitrogen-doped ordered mesoporous carbons for long-life lithium-sulfur batteries

Rechargeable lithium-sulfur(Li-S)batteries are promising candidates for next-generation batteries because of their high theoretical specific capacity(1675 mAh/g)and specific energy(2600 Wh/kg);more-over,S is abundant,inexpensive,non-toxic,and environment friendly.However,the inherent insulating nature of S,discharge products of Li 2S,and dissolution of Li polysulfides(LiPSs)severely limit the practical applications of Li-S batteries.In this study,an N-doped ordered mesoporous carbon(NOMC)with a large specific surface area and high pyridinic N content was successfully prepared via the hard templating method.The synergetic effects of physical nanoconfinement and chemisorption restricted the LiPSs dissolution in the electrolyte.Graphitic N improved the electrical conductivity of the C materials,and pyridinic N effectively adsorbed the LiPSs,thereby inhibiting the shuttling of polysulfides in the electrolyte.The obtained C material was used as an S host,and the resultant S@NOMC composite exhibited a first discharge capacity of 853 mAh/g.The capacity of the composite was retained at 679 mAh/g after 500 cycles at 1 C,which corresponds to a decay rate of 0.042%per cycle.

Enhanced activation of peroxymonosulfate by Fe/N co-doped ordered mesoporous carbon with dual active sites for efficient removal of m-cresol

The novel Fe-N co-doped ordered mesoporous carbon with high catalytic activity in m-cresol removal was prepared by urea-assisted impregnation and simple pyrolysis method.During the preparation of the Fe-NC catalyst,the complexation of N elements in urea could anchor Fe,and the formation of C3N4during urea pyrolysis could also prevent migration and aggregation of Fe species,which jointly improve the dispersion and stability of Fe.The FeN4sites and highly dispersed Fe nanoparticles synergistically trigger the dual-site peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation for highly efficient m-cresol degradation,while the ordered mesoporous structure of the catalyst could improve the mass transfer rate of the catalytic process,which together promote catalytic degradation of m-cresol by PMS activation.Reactive oxygen species (ROS) analytic experiments demonstrate that the system degrades m-cresol by free radical pathway mainly based on SO_(4)^(-)·and·OH,and partially based on·OH as the active components,and a possible PMS activation mechanism by 5Fe-50 for m-cresol degradation was proposed.This study can provide theoretical guidance for the preparation of efficient and stable catalysts for the degradation of organic pollutants by activated PMS.

Guanine-assisted N-doped ordered mesoporous carbons as efficient capacity decaying suppression materials for lithium–sulfur batteries

Lithium–sulfur(Li–S)batteries are considered promising next-generation energy storage devices due to their high weight capacities and theoretical energy densities,which are significantly higher than those of conventional lithium-ion batteries.However,the sulfur cathode presents two major drawbacks,specifically low specific capacity caused by the poor electrical conductivities of the active materials and fast capacity decay caused by polysulfide dissolution/shuttling.Herein,a high-rate and high-stability dendritic material consisting of N-doped ordered mesoporous carbons(NOMCs)was successfully synthesized via a facile and low-cost calcination method.The highly ordered mesoporous carbon skeleton limited the growth of the sulfur nanofiller within its channels and provided the necessary electrical contact with the insulating sulfur.Furthermore,N-doped heteroatoms presented strong binding sites for trapping polysulfide intermediates,achieving high electrochemical activity,which promoted polysulfide conversion reactions.As a result,the prepared NOMC-2/S cathode material with 1.2-1.5 mg cm^(-2)of sulfur displayed excellent electrochemical performance with a high-rate capability of 460.5 m Ah g^(-1)at 1 C,a high specific capacity of 530.9 m Ah g^(-1)after 200 cycles at 0.1 C,and a decay rate of~0.19%per cycle.

Ordered mesoporous carbon supported bifunctional PtM(M=Ru,Fe,Mo)electrocatalysts for a fuel cell anode

The deposition onto an ordered mesoporous carbon（OMC）support of well dispersed PtM（M = Ru,Fe,Mo）alloy nanoparticles（NPs）were synthesized by a direct replication method using SBA-15 as the hard template,furfuryl alcohol and trimethylbeneze as the primary carbon sources,and metal acetylacetonate as the alloying metal precursor and secondary carbon source.The physicochemical properties of the PtM-OMC catalysts were characterized by N2 adsorption-desorption,X-ray diffraction,transmission electron microscopy,X-ray absorption near edge structure,and extended X-ray absorption fine structure.The alloy PtM NPs have an average size of 2-3 nm and were well dispersed in the pore channels of the OMC support.The second metal（M）in the PtM NPs was mostly in the reduced state,and formed a typical core（Pt）-shell（M）structure.Cyclic voltammetry measurements showed that these PtM-OMC electrodes had excellent electrocatalytic activities and tolerance to CO poisoning during the methanol oxidation reaction,which surpassed those of typical activated carbon-supported PtRu catalysts.In particular,the PtFe-OMC catalyst,which exhibited the best performance,can be a practical anodic electrocatalyst in direct methanol fuel cells due to its superior stability,excellent CO tolerance,and low production cost.

Nitrogen-doped ordered mesoporous carbon:Effect of carbon precursor on oxygen reduction reactions

Aniline,pyrrole and phenanthroline,which have different nitrogen compositions,are used as carbon precursors to synthesize nitrogen-doped ordered mesoporous carbons（NOMCs） by the nanocasting method.The effect of the precursor on the resultant NOMC is extensively investigated by nitrogen adsorption-desorption measurements,scanning electron microscopy,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS）,cyclic voltammetry and rotating ring-disk electrode measurements.Salient findings are as follows.First,the precursor has a significant influence on the specific surface area and textural properties.The NOMC materials derived from pyrrole（C-PY-900：765 m^2/） and phenanthroline（C-Phen-900：746 m^2/） exhibit higher specific surface areas than the aniline analog（C-PA-900：569 m^2/）.Second,the XPS results indicate that the total nitrogen content（ca.3.1–3.3 at%） is similar for the three carbon sources,except for a slight difference in the nitrogen configuration.Furthermore,the content of the nitrogen-activated carbon atoms is found to closely depend on the precursor,which is the highest for the phenanthroline-derived carbon.Third,the electrochemical results reveal that the electrocatalytic activity follows in the order C-PA-900 C-PY-900 C-Phen-900,confirming that the nitrogen-activated carbon atoms are the active sites for the oxygen reduction reaction（ORR）.In summary,the precursor has considerable influence on the composition and textural properties of the NOMC materials,of which the ORR electrocatalytic activity can be enhanced through optimization of the NOMCs.

Sulphur-doped ordered mesoporous carbon with enhanced electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction

Metal-free, heteroatom functionalized carbon-based catalysts have made remarkable progress in recent years in a wide range of applications related to energy storage and energy generation. In this study, high surface area mesoporous ordered sulphur doped carbon materials are obtained via one-pot hydrothermal synthesis of carbon/SBA-15 composite after removal of in-situ synthesized hard template SiO2. 2-thiophenecarboxy acid as sulphur source gives rise to sulphur doping level of 5.5 wt%. Comparing with pristine carbon, the sulphur doped mesoporous ordered carbon demonstrates improved electro-catalytic activity in the oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline solution. (C) 2016 Science Press and Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press. All rights reserved.

Ammonia-treatment assisted fully encapsulation of Fe_2O_3 nanoparticles in mesoporous carbons as stable anodes for lithium ion batteries

To improve the initial coulombic efficiency and bulk density of ordered mesoporous carbons, active Fe203 nanoparticles were introduced into tubular mesopore channels of CMK-5 carbon, which possesses high specific surface area （〉1700 m2.g-1） and large pore volume （〉1.8 cm3-g-1）. Fine Fe203 nanoparticles with sizes in the range of 5-7 nm were highly and homogenously encapsulated into CMK-5 matrix through ammonia-treatment and subsequent pyrolysis method. The Fe203 loading was carefully tailored and designed to warrant a high Fe203 content and adequate buffer space for improving the electrochemical performance. In particular, such Fe203 and mesoporous carbon composite with 47 wt% loading exhibits a considerably stable cycle performance （683 mAh.g-1 after 100 cycles, 99% capacity retention against that of the second cycle） as well as good rate capability. The fabrication strategy can effectively solve the drawback of single material, and achieve a high-performance lithium electrode material.

Chemically Modified Ordered Mesoporous Carbon/Polyaniline Composites for Electrochemical Capacitors

Chemically modified ordered mesoporous carbon CMK-3 materials were prepared by means of an easy wet-oxidative method in 2 mol/L nitric acid aqueous solution. A large amount of oxygen-containing functional groups were introduced onto the CMK-3 surface. Modified CMK-3（m-CMK-3） and aniline monomer were polymerized via an in situ chemical oxidative polymerization method. Morphological characterizations of m-CMK-3/PANI （polyaniline） composites were carried out via field emission scanning electron microscopy（SEM）. Their electrochemical properties were investigated with cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The m-CMK-3/PANI composites have excellent properties in capacitance, and the highest specific capacitance（SC） value was up to 489 F/g, suggesting their potential application in the electrode material for electrochemical capacitors.

In-situ carbonization approach for the binder-free Ir-dispersed ordered mesoporous carbon hydrogen evolution electrode

A binder-free Ir-dispersed ordered mesoporous carbon（Ir-OMC） catalytic electrode has been prepared through a designed in-situ carbonization method, which involves coating resorcinol and formaldehyde mixtures with iridium precursors onto the three-dimensional nickel foam framework, followed by insitu calcination in Natmosphere at 800 ℃ for 3 h. This electrode shows a large surface area, ordered mesoporous structure and homogeneous distribution of metal nanoparticles. It presents good activity and stability towards hydrogen evolution reaction, which is attributed to the efficient mass and electron transport from the intimate contact among Ir nanoparticles, ordered mesoporous carbon matrix and 3 D conductive substrate. We hope that this in-situ carbonization synthetic route can also be applied to design more high-performance catalysts for water splitting, fuel cells and other clean energy devices.

Catalytic properties of Ru nanoparticles embedded on ordered mesoporous carbon with different pore size in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis

A series of 3 wt% Ru embedded on ordered mesoporous carbon （OMC） catalysts with different pore sizes were prepared by autoreduction between ruthenium precursors and carbon sources at 1123 K. Ru nanoparticles were embedded on the carbon walls of OMC. Characterization technologies including power X-ray diffraction （XRD）, nitrogen adsorption-desorption, transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, and hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction （H2-TPR） were used to scrutinize the catalysts. The catalyst activity for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis （FTS） was measured in a fixed bed reactor. It was revealed that 3 wt% Ru-OMC catalysts exhibited highly ordered mesoporous structure and large surface area. Compared with the catalysts with smaller pores, the catalysts with larger pores were inclined to form larger Ru particles. These 3 wt% Ru-OMC catalysts with different pore sizes were more stable than 3 wt% Ru/AC catalyst during the FTS reactions because Ru particles were embedded on the carbon walls, suppressing particles aggregation, movement and oxidation. The catalytic activity and C5＋ selectivity were found to increase with the increasing pore size, however, CH4 selectivity showed the opposite trend. These changes may be explained in terms of the special environment of the active Ru sites and the diffusion of products in the pores of the catalysts, suggesting that the activity and hydrocarbon selectivity are more dependent on the pore size of OMC than on the Ru particle size.

Ordered mesoporous carbon spheres assisted Ru nanoclusters/RuO_(2) with redistribution of charge density for efficient CO_(2) methanation in a novel H2/CO_(2)fuel cell

Efficiently reducing carbon dioxide(CO_(2))into carbon chemicals and fuels is highly desirable due to the rapid growth of atmospheric CO_(2)ncentration.In prior work,we described a unique H/CO_(2)fuel cell driven by low-valued waste heat,which not only CO_(2)nverts CO_(2)to methane(CH_(4))but also outputs electrical energy,yet the CO_(2)reduction rate needs to be urgently improved.Here,a novel Ru-RuOcatalyst with heterostructure was grafted on mesoporous carbon spheres by in situ partially reducing RuOinto ultrasmall Ru clusters(~1 nm),in which heteroatom-doped carbon spheres as a matrix with excellent CO_(2)nductivity and abundant pores can not only easily CO_(2)nfine the formation of Ru nanocluster but also are beneficial to the exposed active sites of Ru CO_(2)mplex and the mass transport.CO_(2)mpared to pure RuOnanoparticles supported on carbon spheres,our CO_(2)mposite catalyst boosts the CO_(2) nversion rate by more than 5-fold,reaching a value of 382.7μmol gcat.h-1at 170℃.Moreover,a decent output power density of 2.92 W mwas obtained from this H2/CO_(2)fuel cell using Ru-RuOembedded carbon spheres as a cathode catalyst.The Ru-RuOheterostructure can modify the adsorption energy of CO_(2)and induce the redistribution of charge density,thus boosting CO_(2)reduction significantly.This work not only offers an efficient catalyst for this novel H_(2)/CO_(2)fuel cell but also presents a facile method to prepare Ru nanoclusters.

Enhanced absorption properties of ordered mesoporous carbon/Co-doped ordered mesoporous carbon double-layer absorbers

Ordered mesoporous carbon （OMC） and metal-doped （M-doped） OMC composites are prepared, and their electromagnetic （EM） parameters are measured. Using the measured EM parameters we calculate the EM wave absorption properties of a double-layer absorber, which is composed of OMC as an absorbing layer and M-doped OMC as the matching layer. The calculated results show that the EM wave absorption performance of OMC/OMC–Co （2.2mm/2.1mm） is improved remarkably. The obtained effective absorption bandwidth is up to 10.3 GHz and the minimum reflection loss reaches 47.6 dB at 14.3 GHz. The enhanced absorption property of OMC/OMC–Co can be attributed to the impedance match between the air and the absorber. Moreover, it can be found that for the absorber with a given matching layer, a larger value of -tanδ ε （= tan δ ε absorbing tan δε matching ） can induce better absorption performance, indicating that the difference in impedance between the absorbing layer and the matching layer plays an important role in improving the absorption property of double-layer absorbers.

Single-Atom Lithiophilic Sites Confined within Ordered Porous Carbon for Ultrastable Lithium Metal Anodes

Attributing to the high specific capacity and low electrochemical reduction potential,lithium(Li)metal is regarded as the most promising anode for high-energy Li batteries.However,the growth of lithium dendrites and huge volume change seriously limit the development of lithium metal batteries.To overcome these challenges,an ordered mesoporous N-doped carbon with lithiophilic single atoms is proposed to induce uniform nucleation and deposition of Li metal.Benefiting from the synergistic effects of interconnected three-dimensional ordered mesoporous structures and abundant lithiophilic single-atom sites,regulated local current density and rapid mass transfer can be achieved,leading to the uniform Li deposition with inhibition of dendrites and buffered volume expansion.As a result,the as-fabricated anode exhibits a high CE of 99.8%for 200 cycles.A stable voltage hysteresis of 14 mV at 5 mA cm^(−2)could be maintained for more than 1330 h in the symmetric cell.Furthermore,the full cell coupled with commercial LiFePO_(4)exhibits high reversible capacity of 108 mAh g^(−1)and average Coulombic efficiency of 99.8%from 5th to 350th cycles at 1 C.The ordered mesoporous carbon host with abundant lithiophilic single-atom sites delivers new inspirations into rational design of high-performance Li metal anodes.

Synthesis and Characterization of VO_2/Mesoporous Carbon Composites for Hybrid Capacitors

VO2/ordered mesoporous carbon （CMK-3） composites were prepared by solid-state reaction process. The microstructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, nitrogen adsorption and desorption, field-emission scanning electron microscopy （FE-SEM） and transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. The experimental results showed that the vanadium oxide in the composites was vanadium dioxide （VO2） with monoclinic structure, which was artificially loaded on the outer surface of CMK-3. VO2/ordered mesoporous carbon composites present a significantly improved capacitive performance （131 F/g） increased by 40.86% compared to that of CMK-3 carbon （93 F/g）. Therefore, as-prepared VO2/mesoporous carbon composites suggest promising applications in hybrid capacitors.

Ordered mesoporous carbon fiber bundles with high-density and accessible Fe-NX active sites as efficient ORR catalysts for Zn-air batteries

Fe-NX/C electrocatalysts have aroused extensive interest in accelerating sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics as potential alternatives to platinum catalysts in rechargeable Zn-air batteries (ZABs).However,the low density and poor accessibility of Fe-NXsites have severely restricted the electrocatalytic performance of Fe-NX/C.Herein,Fe,N co-doped ordered mesoporous carbon fiber bundles are prepared through a ligand-assisted strategy with nitrogen-rich 1,10-phenanthroline as space isolation agent.1,10-Phenanthroline reveals a six-membered heterocyclic structure containing abundant nitrogen species to tightly coordinate with Fe ions,which is conducive to achieving high-density Fe-NXsites.Meanwhile,the adoption of SBA-15 as hard-templates enables the catalysts with highly ordered channels and large specific surface areas,improving the accessibility of Fe-NXsites.The optimal catalyst (PDA-Fe-900) demonstrates a positive half-wave potential of 0.84 V (vs.RHE) in alkaline solution,outperforming the commercial Pt/C (0.83 V).In addition,PDA-Fe-900 delivers comparable ORR performance to commercial Pt/C in acidic electrolyte.Impressively,when PDA-Fe-900 is employed as an air cathode,it achieves large power densities of 163.0 m W/cm^(2) in liquid-state ZAB and 116.6 m W/cm^(2) in the flexible solid-state ZAB.This work provides an efficient ligand-assisted pathway for fabricating catalysts with dense and accessible FeNXsites as high-performance ORR electrocatalysts for ZABs.