A composite electrolyte membrane containing high-content sulfonated carbon spheres for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

SO3H-Containing Functional Carbon Materials: Synthesis, Structure, and Acid Catalysis

“…The SO 3 H-functionalized acidic carbon materials or “sulfonated carbons” are a relatively new addition to the family of solid protonic acids, characterized by their low production cost and high Brønsted acidity ( H 0 ≤ −11) on par to concentrated H 2 SO 4 . These materials have been recommended by many experts as ideal substitutes to liquid H 2 SO 4 in applications including catalysis, electrocatalysis, water treatment, CO 2 capture, and energy storage owing to features such as high chemical, mechanical, and thermal stability, tailorable pore structure, as well as surface chemistry. − Catalysis, in particular, large-molecule and biomolecule catalysis, is one of the most interesting areas in which sulfonated carbons have been demonstrated to outperform traditional homogeneous mineral acids and solid acid catalysts (zeolites, ion-exchange resins, sulfated metal oxides, etc. ). − …”

A dechlorination pathway for synthesis of horn shaped carbon nanotubes and its adsorption properties for CO2, CH4, CO and N2

“…Carbon nanotubes have been widely used in energy storage [6], semiconductor devices [7], field emission displays [8], catalysis [9], and sensors [10]. Whereas the fields like lubricating material [11], material reinforcements [12], lithium ion battery [13] and fuel cell [14] mainly involves the carbon nanospheres and microspheres. Various carbon nanostructures have its own properties due to its shape, size and purity which play a crucial role in their applications.…”

Microporous carbon spheres derived from resorcinol-formaldehyde solutions. A new approach to coat supports

“…Another aspect worth bearing in mind, as it amends the final properties of carbon spheres, are the precursors employed, which comprise but are not limited to polymers, biomass-derived carbons, phenolic resins, benzene derivatives and other heterocyclic aromatic organic compounds [2,4,6]. Of these, phenolic resins have attracted most attention as carbon sphere precursors [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17], and particularly resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) precursor solutions which, as has been extensively reported, generally give rise to carbon gels [18][19][20][21][22][23].…”

“…Recently, hydrothermal treatments has made it possible to synthesize carbon spheres easily without the need for additives [9]. However, this process is still tedious as long times are required.…”

“…Leaving aside the above mentioned drawbacks, each of these techniques leads to carbon spheres with different final properties, and hence, the choice of the appropriate synthesis method will depend on the application for which the carbon spheres are intended. The widely-recognized advantages of RF solutions as carbon precursors (which include the possibility of tailoring their porous properties or of doping them with metals and 3 heteroatoms [11,24]), confer on them great potential for preparing carbon spheres that offer optimum performances in a wide variety of applications, such as adsorption [1,25], ultrafiltration [26], catalysis [16] or electrochemical systems [9,13,15,17]. In some of these applications carbon spheres are used as coating of surfaces, nanoparticles or supports and, in these cases, spray-drying methods are preferable.…”