• Carbon letters
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.53-64
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• 2016

Nitrogen (N)-doped ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs) with a dual transition metal system were synthesized as non-Pt catalysts for the ORR. The highly nitrogen doped OMCs were prepared by the precursor of ionic liquid (3-methyl-1-butylpyridine dicyanamide) for N/C species and a mesoporous silica template for the physical structure. Mostly, N-doped carbons are promoted by a single transition metal to improve catalytic activity for ORR in PEMFCs. In this study, our N-doped mesoporous carbons were promoted by the dual transition metals of iron and cobalt (Fe, Co), which were incorporated into the N-doped carbons lattice by subsequently heat treatments. All the prepared carbons were characterized by via transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). To evaluate the activities of synthesized doped carbons, linear sweep was recorded in an acidic solution to compare the ORR catalytic activities values for the use in the PEMFC system. The dual transition metal promotion improved the ORR activity compared with the single transition metal promotion, due to the increase in the quaternary nitrogen species from the structural change by the dual metals. The effect of different ratio of the dual metals into the N doped carbon were examined to evaluate the activities of the oxygen reduction reaction.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.8
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• pp.2423-2430
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• 2014

Nitrogen-doped short tubular carbons (N-STCs) with big inner diameter have been successfully synthesized via carbonization of polydopamine (PDA) wrapped halloysite nanotubes (HNTs). The obtained N-STCs have average length of $0.3{\mu}m$ with big inner diameter (50 nm), thin wall (2-3 nm) and large surface area ($776m^2g^{-1}$), and show excellent electrochemical properties. As an example in electrochemical applications, N-STCs were used to electrochemically detect hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) and glucose. The results showed that the N-STCs modified glassy carbon (N-STCs/GC) electrode had much better analytical performance (lower detection limit and wider linear range) compared to the acid-treated carbon nanotubes (AO-CNTs) based GC electrode. The unique structure endows N-STCs the enhanced electrochemical performance and promising applications in electrochemical sensing.

• Carbon letters
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• v.28
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• pp.116-120
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• 2018

Nitrogen-doped carbons have attracted much attention due to their novel application in relation to gas storage. In this study, nitrogen-doped porous carbons were synthesized using SBA-15 as a template, polypyrrole as the carbon and nitrogen precursor, and KOH as an activating agent. The effect of the activation temperature ($600-850^{\circ}C$) on the $CO_2$ adsorption capacity of the obtained porous carbons was studied. Characterization of the resulting carbons showed that they were micro-/meso-porous carbon materials with a well-developed pore structure that varied with the activation temperature. The highest surface area of $1488m^2g^{-1}$ was achieved at an activation temperature of $800^{\circ}C$ (AC-800). The nitrogen content of the activated carbon decreased from 4.74 to 1.39 wt% with an increase in the activation temperature from 600 to $850^{\circ}C$. This shows that nitrogen is oxidized and more easily removed than carbon during the activation process, which indicates that C-N bonds are more easily ruptured at higher temperatures. Furthermore, $CO_2$ adsorption isotherms showed that AC-800 exhibited the best $CO_2$ adsorption capacity of $110mg\;g^{-1}$ at 298 K and 1 bar.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.264-271
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• 2021

Porous carbons have been widely used as electrode material for supercapacitors. However, commercial porous carbons, such as activated carbons, have low electrochemical performance. Nitrogen-doping is one of the most promising strategies to improve electrochemical performance of porous carbons. In this study, nitrogen self-doped porous carbon (NPC) is prepared from melamine foam by carbonization to improve the supercapacitive performance. The prepared NPC is characterized in terms of the chemical structures and elements, morphology, pore structures, and electrochemical performance. The results of the N₂ physisorption measurement, X-ray diffraction, and Raman analyses reveal that the prepared NPC has bimodal pore structures and pseudo-graphite structures with nitrogen functionality. The NPC-based electrode exhibits a gravimetric capacitance of 153 F g^-1 at 1 A g^-1, a rate capability of 73.2 % at 10 A g^-1, and an outstanding cycling ability of 97.85 % after 10,000 cycles at 10 A g^-1. Thus, the NPC prepared in this study can be applied as electrode material for high-performance supercapacitors.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.413-416
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• 2008

A synthesis route to ordered mesoporous carbons with controllable nitrogen content has been developed for high-performance EDLC electrodes. Nitrogen-doped ordered mesoporous carbons (denoted as NMC) were prepared by carbonizing a mixture of two different carbon sources within the mesoporous silica designated by KIT-6. Furfuryl alcohol was used as a primary carbon precursor, and melamine as a nitrogen dopant. This synthesis procedure gave cubic Ia3d mesoporous carbons containing nitrogen as much as 13%. The carbon exhibited a narrow pore size distribution centered at 3-4 nm with large pore volume (0.6-1 cm3 g-1) and high specific BET surface area (700-1000 m2 g-1). Electrochemical behaviors of the NMC samples with various N-contents were investigated by a two-electrode measurement system at aqueous solutions. At low current density, the NMC exhibited markedly increasing capacitance due to the increase in the nitrogen content. This result could be attributed to the enhanced surface affinity between carbon electrode and electrolyte ions due to the hydrophilic nitrogen functional groups. At high current density conditions, the NMC samples exhibited decreasing specific capacitance against the increase in the nitrogen content. The loss of the capacitance with the N-content may be explained by high electric resistance which causes a significant IR drop at high current densities. The present results indicate that the optimal nitrogen content is required for achieving high power and high energy density simultaneously.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.24-32
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• 2023

Continuous increase of domestic meat consumption has inevitably increased generation of livestock manure and caused severe environmental impacts on ecosystem and human beings. This work produced biochar from cattle manure samples with different composting aging stages and investigated the properties of the produced biochar. The result of thermogravimetric analysis showed that thermal decomposition of the manure initiated at <600℃. The biochar yield was higher for the manure with a longer pre-composting period due to the elimination of microbially metabolized carbons during composting process. The result of FT-IR analysis showed that the number of surface functional groups were reduced during pyrolysis while enhancing the graphitic structures of the carbon framework. Manure samples tended to leach out N and P in leaching tests, with its amount higher for aged one than fresh one. However, their leaching was substantially suppressed when the manure was produced into biochar. In XPS spectra, it was found that N and P in the manure incorporated into biochar surface to form N-doped graphitic carbon and P-N-moieties, respectively. The findings of this work suggest that the thermochemical process can be of a viable option to valorize into biochar for potential environmental applications as well as to alleviate undesired nutrients loading to the environment.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.203-208
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• 2003

Two coupled molecules were successfully synthesized by condensation of amine-donor-substituted barbituric acid derivativies as nonlinear optical chromophores. A flexible spacer of the alkyl chain with different lengths of carbon chains (5 and 6 carbons) was introduced between two chromophores, which prevented crystallization and aggregation of molecules. Two coupled molecules (B-Cn-B, n=5, 6) had glass-transition temperatures on a second heating around 81 and 76$^{\circ}C$ without melting points, respectively. To explore the linear optical properties, thin-films were prepared and examined by a photometry method using Nd:YVO$_4$ CW laser. Also, microscopic and macroscopic nonlinear optical properties were measured by Hyper-Rayleigh Scattering (HRS) and the Maker Fringes method using Nd:YAG ps pulse laser, respectively. In spite of the moderate hyperpolarizabilities of coupled molecules, the second order NLO coefficient (d$\_$33/) was larger than the conventional Disperse Red 1 doped PMMA polymeric system.

• Advances in Energy Research
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.219-226
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• 2017

Electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLCs) have received a tremendous interest due to their suitability for diverse applications. They have been fabricated using different carbon based electrodes including activated carbons, single walled/multi walled carbon nano tubes. But, graphite which is one of the natural resources in Sri Lanka has not been given a considerable attention towards using for EDLCs though it is a famous carbon material. On the other hand, EDLCs are well reported with various liquid electrolytes which are associated with numerous drawbacks. Gel polymer electrolytes (GPE) are well known alternative for liquid electrolytes. In this paper, it is reported about an EDLC fabricated with a nano composite polyethylene oxide based GPE and two Sri Lankan graphite based electrodes. The composition of the GPE was [{(10PEO: $NaClO_4$) molar ratio}: 75wt.% PC] : 5 wt.% $TiO_2$. GPE was prepared using the solvent casting method. Two graphite electrodes were prepared by mixing 85% graphite and 15% polyvinylidenefluoride (PVdF) in acetone and casting n fluorine doped tin oxide glass plates. GPE film was sandwiched in between the two graphite electrodes. A non faradaic charge discharge mechanism was observed from the Cyclic Voltammetry study. GPE was stable in the potential windows from (-0.8 V-0.8 V) to (-1.5 V-1.5 V). By increasing the width of the potential window, single electrode specific capacity increased. Impedance plots confirmed the capacitive behavior at low frequency region. Galvanostatic charge discharge test yielded an average discharge capacity of $0.60Fg^{-1}$.