Physical and chemical activation mechanisms of carbon materials based on the microdomain model

Abstract

Activation mechanisms of carbon materials are proposed. Physical activation proceeds via removal of the carbon surface. Chemical activation produces highly porous carbon and enhances the crystallinity due to the removal of the non-graphitic parts.

Polyethylene‐Derived Activated Carbon Materials for Commercially Available Supercapacitor in an Organic Electrolyte System

“…However, this enhancement was accompanied by a sharp decrease in the surface area of the carbons (Table S5, Supporting Information). [ 27,28 ] The chemical activation process at 900 °C applied in this study also decreased the SSA of PEC2400, and we predicted that PEC2400K would have higher crystallinity than PEC2400. We also expected the crystallinity of the other PECXs to be influenced by the chemical activation process.…”

“…To prepare the PECXKs, we referred to previous reports that outline the activation mechanisms of carbons (Figure S3, Supporting Information). [27,28] Chemical activation was performed with potassium hydroxide (KOH, Daejung Chem., Republic of Korea). The as-prepared PEC900, PEC1200, and PEC2400 were heat-treated with KOH at 900 °C in a tube furnace.…”

“…So, they have a larger surface area, but the electrical conductivity is not comparable to the highly crystalline counterpart, which was not suitable for developing a large surface area through chemical etching. [ 23–28 ] According to a paper by Yoon et al, a chemical activation using sodium hydroxide at 900 °C can enhance the crystallinity of carbon materials. [ 26 ] In addition, our group also confirmed that a chemical activation process using potassium hydroxide (KOH) imparts activated carbons with good crystallinity as well as a large surface area at temperature conditions of 900 or 1000 °C (Figure S3, Supporting Information).…”

“…[ 26 ] In addition, our group also confirmed that a chemical activation process using potassium hydroxide (KOH) imparts activated carbons with good crystallinity as well as a large surface area at temperature conditions of 900 or 1000 °C (Figure S3, Supporting Information). [ 27 ] Considering the above results, it was assumed that we could develop polyethylene (PE)‐derived ACs with large surface area and electrical conductivity by adopting the chemical activation using KOH at 900 °C in this study.…”

Upcycling Plastic Waste into High Value‐Added Carbonaceous Materials

“…Yang et al. [ 75 ] proposed mechanisms of physical and chemical activation based on insights from the microdomain model and the assumption in Fraklin's structural model that spherical carbon particles are comprised of graphite, graphitic, and non‐graphitic form (see Scheme 3 of Yang et al. [ 75 ] ).…”