Preparation of carbon alloy catalysts from humic acid and their activities for the oxygen reduction reaction

CARBON

9 3 ( 2 0 1 5 ) 1 0 7 7 –1 0 7 8

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Tanso 267 Abstracts Expansion

of

carbon

artifacts

during

graphitization—An

intercalated with sodium (Na) to form a first stage intercalation

industrial issue

compound, which can be used as the anode of Na ion batteries.

Wilhelm Frohs, Felix Roeßner

C/N materials used as the electrode of capacitors have higher volumetric capacities than commercially-used activated

SGL Carbon GmbH, Germany

carbon, and show photocatalytic behavior as an electrode for the production of hydrogen by the electrolysis of water.

Petroleum-based needle coke will be losing its dominance for the production of graphite electrodes, due to the growing produc-

Important roles of boron and nitrogen in B/C/N and C/N materials are also discussed.

tion capacities in the field of coal tar pitch (CTP)-based needle

TANSO 2015 (No. 267), 84–93.

coke types. Up to now, CTP needle coke does not harmonize with the conditions prevailing in modern lengthwise graphitization

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2015.04.057

furnaces. The reason is the volumetric expansion during graphitization—the so called puffing—caused by the removal of gaseous nitrogen. Earlier research activity has failed to depress (or even prevent) the nitrogen puffing of CTP needle coke to a similar level as found with petroleum needle coke standards. This paper gives

Preparation of carbon alloy catalysts from humic acid and their activities for the oxygen reduction reaction Machiko Takigami, Shin-ya Baba, Jun-ichi Ozaki

a brief review of the research carried out in the past. It evaluates

Division of Environmental Engineering Science, Graduate School of

several measures to depress nitrogen puffing and reports recently

Science and Technology, Gunma University, Japan

obtained results. It is expected that a chemical inhibition of nitrogen puffing is not possible on an industrial scale. However, solutions are seen in physical measures—like thermal reduction of the nitrogen content and in tailoring the coke morphology by the thermal processes involved in its production.

Carbon catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) were prepared from mixtures of humic acid and cobalt compounds. To examine the effects of cobalt and nitrogen on the ORR, cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc), cobalt chloride (CoCl2) and phthalocya-

TANSO 2015 (No. 267) 77–83.

nine (H2Pc) were mixed with the humic acid and carbonized at 800 °C. The carbons were washed with hydrochloric acid to

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2015.04.056

remove metals on the surface of the carbons. The carbon prepared by mixing HA, CoCl2 and H2Pc (HA–CoCl2–H2Pc) had the

Heteroatom-substituted

carbon

alloys

for

use

in

energy

highest ORR activity, while the carbons, HA–CoPc and HA–H2Pc,

conversion and storage systems

had lower ORR activities. HA–CoCl2 had moderate activity. The

Masayuki Kawaguchia,b

results imply that both of cobalt and nitrogen are important to

a

obtain ORR catalysts with higher activities. A uniform distribution

Division of Advanced Science and Engineering, Department of

Environmental Science, Osaka Electro-Communication University, Japan b

Fundamental

Electronics

Research

Institute,

Osaka

of Co atoms in the precursor is also important to obtain carbon alloy catalysts with higher ORR activities. TANSO 2015 (No. 267), 94–100.

Electro-Communication University, Japan

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2015.04.058 Carbon-based materials containing heteroatoms, such as boron and nitrogen, are called heteroatom-substituted carbon alloys. Preparation and applications of heteroatom-substituted carbon alloys, particularly materials composed of boron, carbon and nitrogen (B/C/N materials), and carbon and nitrogen (C/N materials) are summarized in this review. Examples of potential applications of the materials to energy conversion

Effects of the type and concentration of solvent used for (NH4)2S2O8 oxidation on Ni(II) adsorption and the properties of activated carbon Yasunari Nemotoa, Yoshimasa Amanoa,b, Motoi Machidaa,b, Fumio Imazekib

and storage systems, such as secondary batteries, capacitors

a

Graduate School of Engineering, Chiba University, Japan

and photocatalysts are described. B/C/N materials can be

b

Safety and Health Organization, Chiba University, Japan