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Carbon Nanomaterials: Design and Applications

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A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2023) | Viewed by 14576

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Dr. Jinpeng Li

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Plant Fiber Material Science Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, School of Light Industry and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Interests: nanosilver functional composites; carbon nanofiber; MXene materials; carbon-based sensing materials; heat conduction materials; functional nanomembrane materials
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Prof. Dr. Jun Xu

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Plant Fiber Material Science Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, School of Light Industry and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China
Interests: bio-based functional materials; plant fiber resources utilization; lignocellulose bioenergy

Dr. Bin Wang

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Dr. Wenhua Gao

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Plant Fiber Material Science Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, School of Light Industry and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Interests: graphene; nanotube; nanocelluose
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are very interested in your research and wonder if you would like to submit your research for the Special Issue titled “Carbon Nanomaterials: Design and Applications”. Carbon nanomaterials are carbon materials with a dispersed phase scale of at least one dimension less than 100 nm, which possess many excellent properties and are expected to be used in a wide range of fields, such as structural and functionally enhanced composites, energy storage, photoelectric detection and conversion materials, and micro- and nano-electronic devices. Carbon nanomaterials are considered to be the most promising super nanomaterials for large-scale practical applications in the fields of lithium ion batteries, fuel cells, supercapacitors, solar cells, electrocatalysts, etc.

This Special Issue aims to provide a platform for researchers in the field of carbon nanomaterials to communicate and share. The papers to be submitted include original research papers, communications and reviews. The scope of acceptance includes, but is not limited to, the following areas:

Highly efficient methods for preparation of carbon nanomaterials including carbon nanofiber; Mxene; graphene; porous carbon and their derivatives.
Characterization of structures and chemistry of nanomaterials based on carbon nanomaterials.
Design, modification and fabrication of carbon-based nanomaterials.
Application progress of carbon nanomaterials in the field of new energy (lithium ion batteries, fuel cells, supercapacitors, solar cells, electrocatalyst, etc.).
Application progress of carbon nanomaterials in the field of traditional areas (e.g. anti-corrosion coating and rubber and plastic field).
Research progress of carbon nanomaterials in other composite materials.

Dr. Jinpeng Li
Prof. Dr. Jun Xu
Dr. Bin Wang
Dr. Wenhua Gao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

carbon nanofiber
Mxene
graphene
porous carbon material
carbon-based functional nanomaterials
nanotube
nanocellulose
architectural design

Related Special Issue

Design, Preparation, Characterization, and Applications of Functional Nanomaterials in Molecules (1 article)

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 8223 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Palladium Nanoparticles Grafted onto Phytochemical Functionalized Biochar: A Sustainable Nanozyme for Colorimetric Sensing of Glucose and Glutathione

by Aakhila Banu, Arnet Maria Antony, Balappa Somappa Sasidhar, Shivaputra A. Patil and Siddappa A. Patil

Molecules 2023, 28(18), 6676; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28186676 - 18 Sep 2023

Viewed by 985

Abstract

The devising and development of numerous enzyme mimics, particularly nanoparticles and nanomaterials (nanozymes), have been sparked by the inherent limitations imposed by natural enzymes. Peroxidase is one of the enzymes that is extensively utilized in commercial, medical, and biological applications because of its outstanding substrate selectivity. Herein, we present palladium nanoparticles grafted on Artocarpus heterophyllus (jackfruit) seed-derived biochar (BC-AHE@Pd) as a novel nanozyme to imitate peroxidase activity en route to the rapid and colorimetric detection of H₂O₂, exploiting o-phenylenediamine as a peroxidase substrate. The biogenically generated BC-AHE@Pd nanocatalyst was synthesized utilizing Artocarpus heterophyllus seed extract as the reducing agent for nanoparticle formation, while the residue became the source for biochar. Various analytical techniques like FT-IR, GC-MS, FE-SEM, EDS, TEM, SAED pattern, p-XRD, and ICP-OES, were used to characterize the BC-AHE@Pd nanocatalyst. The intrinsic peroxidase-like activity of the BC-AHE@Pd nanocatalyst was extended as a prospective nanosensor for the estimation of the biomolecules glucose and glutathione. Moreover, the BC-AHE@Pd nanocatalyst showed recyclability up to three recycles without any significant loss in activity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Nanomaterials: Design and Applications)

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24 pages, 10272 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Physical Mechanism of Nonlinear Spectra in Triangene

by Na Zhang, Weijian Feng, Hanbo Wen, Naixing Feng, Hao Sheng, Zhixiang Huang and Jingang Wang

Molecules 2023, 28(9), 3744; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28093744 - 26 Apr 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1140

Abstract

In this work, we theoretically investigate the linear and nonlinear optical absorption properties of open triangulene spin chains and cyclic triangulene spin chains in relation to their lengths and shapes. The physical mechanism of local excitation within the triangular alkene unit and the weak charge transfer between the units are discussed. The uniformly distributed electrostatic potential allows the system to have a small permanent dipole moment that blocks the electronic transition in the light excitation such that the electronic transition can only be carried out between adjacent carbon atoms. The one-photon absorption (OPA) spectra and two-photon absorption (TPA) spectra are red-shifted with the addition of triangulene units compared to N = 3TSCs (triangulene spin chains, TSCs). Here, TPA is mainly caused by the first step of the transition. The length of the spin chain has a significant adjustment effect on the photon cross-section. TSCs of different lengths and shapes can control chirality by adjusting the distribution of the electric dipole moment and transition magnetic dipole moment. These analyses reveal the photophysical properties of triangulene and provide a theoretical basis for studying the photophysical properties of triangulene and its derivatives. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Nanomaterials: Design and Applications)

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13 pages, 7508 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Preparation of Cellulose Nanocrystals by Synergistic Action of Ionic Liquid and Recyclable Solid Acid under Mild Conditions

by Li Ma, Yongjian Xu, Jian Chen, Cuihua Dong and Zhiqiang Pang

Molecules 2023, 28(7), 3070; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28073070 - 30 Mar 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1170

Abstract

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are nanoscale particles made from cellulose. They have many unique properties such as being lightweight, stiff, and renewable, making them promising for a variety of applications in a wide range of industries, including materials science, energy storage, and biomedicine. In this paper, a two-stage (swelling-SA-catalyzed) method including IL pretreatment and solid acid hydrolysis process was developed to extract CNCs with high purity and good thermal stability from microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). In the first stage, the swelling of MCC in ionic liquid was studied with the assistance of ultrasonication, and it was found that the amorphous regions became more disordered while the crystalline areas were selectively retained under the conditions of 30 min of reaction time, 45 °C of temperature, 2% of ionic liquid water content and 1:4 mass ratio of cellulose to ionic liquid. CNCs were extracted using solid acid hydrolysis, with a 45 wt% solid acid to cellulose ratio and a 5.0 h hydrolysis process at 45 °C. The morphology, crystallinity, surface characteristics and thermo stability of the sample were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), respectively. Results demonstrated the highly thermostable CNCs were successful extracted with rodlike shape of 300 ± 100 nm in length and 20 ± 10 nm in width. Solid acid recovery and reuse were also studied, revealing a promising candidate that can reduce the environmental impact associated with chemical products. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Nanomaterials: Design and Applications)

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15 pages, 4496 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dialdehyde Cellulose Solution as Reducing Agent: Preparation of Uniform Silver Nanoparticles and In Situ Synthesis of Antibacterial Composite Films with High Barrier Properties

by Jinsong Zeng, Xinyi Xiong, Fugang Hu, Jinpeng Li and Pengfei Li

Molecules 2023, 28(7), 2956; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28072956 - 26 Mar 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2092

Abstract

The demand for antimicrobial materials is gradually increasing due to the threat of infections and diseases caused by microorganisms. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are widely used because of their broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties, but their synthesis methods are often environmentally harmful and AgNPs difficult to isolate, which limits their application in several fields. In this study, an aqueous solution of dialdehyde cellulose (DAC) was prepared and used as a reducing agent to synthesize AgNPs in an efficient and environmentally friendly process. The synthesized AgNPs can be easily separated from the reducing agent to expand their applications. In addition, the AgNPs were immobilized in situ on dialdehyde cellulose to form antibacterial composite films. The results showed that the prepared silver nanoparticles were mainly spherical and uniformly dispersed, with an average size of about 25 nm under optimal conditions. Moreover, the dialdehyde cellulose–nanosilver (DAC@Ag) composite films had excellent mechanical properties, positive transparency, ultraviolet-blocking properties, and effective antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus. Notably, the composite films exhibited excellent oxygen and water vapor barrier properties, with WVT and ORT of 136.41 g/m²·24 h (30 °C, 75% RH) and <0.02 cm³/m²·24 h·0.1 MPa (30 °C, 75% RH), respectively, better than commercial PE films. Hence, this study not only provides an environmentally friendly method for the preparation of silver nanoparticles, but also offers a simple and novel strategy for the in situ synthesis of silver-loaded antibacterial composite films. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Nanomaterials: Design and Applications)

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11 pages, 17438 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Thickness Effects on Boron Doping and Electrochemical Properties of Boron-Doped Diamond Film

by Hangyu Long, Huawen Hu, Kui Wen, Xuezhang Liu, Shuang Liu, Quan Zhang and Ting Chen

Molecules 2023, 28(6), 2829; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28062829 - 21 Mar 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1888

Abstract

As a significant parameter in tuning the structure and performance of the boron-doped diamond (BDD), the thickness was focused on the mediation of the boron doping level and electrochemical properties. BDD films with different thicknesses were deposited on silicon wafers by the hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) method. The surface morphology and composition of the BDD films were characterized by SEM and Raman, respectively. It was found that an increase in the BDD film thickness resulted in larger grain size, a reduced grain boundary, and a higher boron doping level. The electrochemical performance of the electrode equipped with the BDD film was characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in potassium ferricyanide. The results revealed that the thicker films exhibited a smaller peak potential difference, a lower charge transfer resistance, and a higher electron transfer rate. It was believed that the BDD film thickness-driven improvements of boron doping and electrochemical properties were mainly due to the columnar growth mode of CVD polycrystalline diamond film, which led to larger grain size and a lower grain boundary density with increasing film thickness. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Nanomaterials: Design and Applications)

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13 pages, 2937 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Porous Carbon with Alumina Coating Nanolayer Derived from Biomass and the Enhanced Electrochemical Performance as Stable Anode Materials

by Wasif ur Rehman, Haiming Huang, Muhammad Zain Yousaf, Farooq Aslam, Xueliang Wang and Awais Ghani

Molecules 2023, 28(6), 2792; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28062792 - 20 Mar 2023

Viewed by 1926

Abstract

With the ever-increasing world population, the energy produced from green, environmentally friendly approaches is in high demand. In this work, we proposed a green and cost-effective strategy for synthesizing a porous carbon electrode decorated with alumina oxide (Al₂O₃) from cherry blossom leaves using the pyrolysis method followed by a sol-gel method. An Al₂O₃-coating nano-layer (4–6 nm) is formed on the porous carbon during the composition fabrication, which further adversely affects battery performance. The development of a simple rich-shell-structured C@Al₂O₃ nanocomposite anode is expected to achieve stable electrochemical performances as lithium storage. A significant contributing factor to enhanced performance is the structure of the rich-shell material, which greatly enhances conductivity and stabilizes the solid–electrolyte interface (SEI) film. In the battery test assembled with composite C@Al₂O₃ electrode, the specific capacity is 516.1 mAh g⁻¹ at a current density of 0.1 A g⁻¹ after 200 cycles. The average discharge capacity of carbon is 290 mAh g⁻¹ at a current density of 1.0 A g⁻¹. The present study proposes bioinspired porous carbon electrode materials for improving the performance of next-generation lithium-ion batteries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Nanomaterials: Design and Applications)

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15 pages, 5300 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Regulatory Mechanism of Opposite Charges on Chiral Self-Assembly of Cellulose Nanocrystals

by Bin Wang, Jinyang Xu, Chengliang Duan, Jinpeng Li, Jinsong Zeng, Jun Xu, Wenhua Gao and Kefu Chen

Molecules 2023, 28(4), 1857; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28041857 - 15 Feb 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1608

Abstract

The charge plays an important role in cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) self-assembly to form liquid crystal structures, which has rarely been systematically explored. In this work, a novel technique combining atomic force microscopy force and atomistic molecular dynamics simulations was addressed for the first time to systematically investigate the differences in the CNC self-assembly caused by external positive and negative charges at the microscopic level, wherein sodium polyacrylate (PAAS) and chitosan oligosaccharides (COS) were used as external positive and negative charge additives, respectively. The results show that although the two additives both make the color of CNC films shift blue and eventually disappear, their regulatory mechanisms are, respectively, related to the extrusion of CNC particles by PAAS and the reduction in CNC surface charge by COS. The two effects both decreased the spacing between CNC particles and further increased the cross angle of CNC stacking arrangement, which finally led to the color variations. Moreover, the disappearance of color was proved to be due to the kinetic arrest of CNC suspensions before forming chiral nematic structure with the addition of PAAS and COS. This work provides an updated theoretical basis for the detailed disclosure of the CNC self-assembly mechanism. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Nanomaterials: Design and Applications)

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18 pages, 4306 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Adsorptive Features of Magnetic Activated Carbons Prepared by a One-Step Process towards Brilliant Blue Dye

by Victoria X. Nascimento, Carlos Schnorr, Sabrina F. Lütke, Maria C. F. Da Silva, Fernando Machado Machado, Pascal S. Thue, Éder C. Lima, Julien Vieillard, Luis F. O. Silva and Guilherme L. Dotto

Molecules 2023, 28(4), 1821; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28041821 - 15 Feb 2023

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2070

Abstract

Water pollution by dyes has been a major environmental problem to be tackled, and magnetic adsorbents appear as promising alternatives to solve it. Herein, magnetic activated carbons were prepared by the single−step method from Sapelli wood sawdust, properly characterized, and applied as adsorbents for brilliant blue dye removal. In particular, two magnetic activated carbons, MAC1105 and MAC111, were prepared using the proportion of biomass KOH of 1:1 and varying the proportion of NiCl₂ of 0.5 and 1. The characterization results demonstrated that the different proportions of NiCl₂ mainly influenced the textural characteristics of the adsorbents. An increase in the surface area from 260.0 to 331.5 m² g⁻¹ and in the total pore volume from 0.075 to 0.095 cm³ g⁻¹ was observed with the weight ratio of NiCl₂. Both adsorbents exhibit ferromagnetic properties and the presence of nanostructured Ni particles. The different properties of the materials influenced the adsorption kinetics and equilibrium of brilliant blue dye. MAC111 showed faster kinetics, reaching the equilibrium in around 10 min, while for MAC1105, it took 60 min for the equilibrium to be reached. In addition, based on the Sips isotherm, the maximum adsorption capacity was 98.12 mg g⁻¹ for MAC111, while for MAC1105, it was 60.73 mg g⁻¹. Furthermore, MAC111 presented the potential to be reused in more adsorption cycles than MAC1105, and the use of the adsorbents in the treatment of a simulated effluent exhibited high effectiveness, with removal efficiencies of up to 90%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Nanomaterials: Design and Applications)

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13 pages, 7152 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Orbital Polarization-Dependent Fragment Twist-Induced Intramolecular Electric-Field-Driven Charge Transfer

by Wenjing Bo, Hao Sheng and Jingang Wang

Molecules 2023, 28(4), 1801; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28041801 - 14 Feb 2023

Viewed by 1174

Abstract

Defects, such as twisting, in fused aromatic hydrocarbons disrupt the plane of the

π

Defects, such as twisting, in fused aromatic hydrocarbons disrupt the plane of the

π

orbital. The twisted structure induces an electric field in the system and affects the spectra. In this work, theoretical studies show that the intramolecular electric field within a distinctly twisted structure is larger than that of other molecules. In addition, the spectral study shows that the degree of charge transfer and the magnetic transition dipole in the electrostatic potential extremum region of the molecular electric field were significantly improved, which affected the optical absorption and chiral optical behavior of the molecule. The discovery of this theoretical regulation law will provide a solid foundation for the electric-field-induced regulation of optical properties and will promote the precise design and synthesis of optoelectronic molecules with inner electric fields. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Nanomaterials: Design and Applications)

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