• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.1523-1526
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• 2012

In this work, we prepared activated multi-walled carbon nanotubes/polyacrylonitrile (A-MWCNTs/C) composites by film casting and activation method. Electrochemical properties of the composites were investigated in terms of serving as MWCNTs-based electrode materials for electric double layer capacitors (EDLCs). As a result, the A-MWCNTs/C composites had much higher BET specific surface area, and pore volume, and lower volume ratio of micropores than those of pristine MWCNTs/PAN ones. Furthermore, some functional groups were added on the surface of the A-MWCNTs/C composites. The specific capacitance of the A-MWCNTs/C composites was more than 4.5 times that of the pristine ones at 0.1 V discharging voltage owing to the changes of the structure and surface characteristics of the MWCNTs by activation process.

• Carbon letters
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.201-205
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• 2010

Activated carbons are well known as adsorbents for gases and vapors. Micro porous carbons are used for the sorption/separation of light gases, whereas, carbon with bigger pore size are applied for removal of large molecules. Therefore, the control of pore size of activated carbon plays a vital role for their use in specific applications. In the present work, steam activation parameters have been varied to control pore size of the resulting activated carbon. It was found that flow rate of steam has profound effect on both surface characteristic and surface morphology. The flow rate of steam was optimized to retain monolith structure as well as higher surface area.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.159.2-159.2
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• 2011

In this study, we prepared the activated graphite nanofibers (A-GNFs) via chemical activation with KOH reagent. The effect of A-GNFs on the surface and textural properties of Ni-loaded graphite nanofibers (Ni/GNFs) was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). The textural properties of samples were investigated by $N_2$/77K adsorption isotherms. The electrochemical performances were investigated by cyclic voltammetry. As a results, the electrochemical performances of Ni/GNFs were improved with usage of A-GNFs. This could be interpreted by the high specific surface area and large total pore volume of the A-GNFs.

• Carbon letters
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• v.20
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• pp.32-38
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• 2016

In this study, cellulose nanoplates (CNPs) were fabricated using cellulose nanocrystals obtained from commercial microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). Their pyrolysis behavior and the characteristics of the product carbonaceous materials were investigated. CNPs showed a relatively high char yield when compared with MCC due to sulfate functional groups introduced during the manufacturing process. In addition, pyrolyzed CNPs (CCNPs) showed more effective chemical activation behavior compared with MCC-induced carbonaceous materials. The activated CCNPs exhibited a microporous carbon structure with a high surface area of 1310.6 m²/g and numerous oxygen heteroatoms. The results of this study show the effects of morphology and the surface properties of cellulose-based nanomaterials on pyrolysis and the activation process.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.339-345
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• 2021

Spent activated carbons (SACs) collected from a water treatment plant were regenerated and then adopted as electrochemical material in capacitors. The SACs used in this study were regenerated via two steps, namely thermal and chemical activation. However, during the activation process, the adsorbates were converted into ashes, which caused pore blockage and decreased specific surface area. The regenerated SACs were washed with acid solutions with different levels of acidity (strong: HCl, mild: H₃PO₄, and weak: H₂O₂) to remove the ashes. The regenerated SACs washed with HCl exhibited the highest specific surface area, although their capacitance was not the highest. Conversely, the specific surface area of regenerated SACs washed using H₃PO₄ was slightly lower than that of HCl, but exhibited higher capacitance and electrochemical stability. Although the strong acid removed the generated ashes in the pores efficiently, it could adversely affect their structural stability, which would lead to lower capacitance.

• Carbon letters
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.21-25
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• 2011

A novel electrode for an NO gas sensor was fabricated from electrospun polyacrylonitrile fibers by thermal treatment to obtain carbon fibers followed by chemical activation to enhance the activity of gas adsorption sites. The activation process improved the porous structure, increasing the specific surface area and allowing for efficient gas adsorption. The gas sensing ability and response time were improved by the increased surface area and micropore fraction. High performance gas sensing was then demonstrated by following a proposed mechanism based on the activation effects. Initially, the pore structure developed by activation significantly increased the amount of adsorbed gas, as shown by the high sensitivity of the gas sensor. Additionally, the increased micropore fraction enabled a rapid sensor response time due to improve the adsorption speed. Overall, the sensitivity for NO gas was improved approximately six-fold, and the response time was reduced by approximately 83% due to the effects of chemical activation.

• Carbon letters
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.298-302
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• 2008

Carbon blacks could be used as the filler for the electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. The poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) were used as the matrix for the carbon black fillers. Porous carbon blacks were prepared by $CO_2$ activation. The activation was performed by treating the carbon blacks in $CO_2$ to different degrees of burnoff. During the activation, the enlargement of pore diameters, and development of microporous and mesoporous structures were introduced in the carbon blacks, resulting in an increase of extremely large specific surface areas. The porosity of carbon blacks was an increasing function of the degree of burn-off. The surface area increased from $80\;m^2/g$ to $1142\;m^2/g$ and the total pore volume increased from $0.14073\;cc{\cdot}g^{-1}$ to $0.9343\;cc{\cdot}g^{-1}$. Also, the C=O functional group characterized by aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids and esters was enhanced during the activation process. The EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) of raw N330 carbon blacks filled with PVA was about 1 dB and those of the activated carbon blacks increased to the values between 6 and 9 dB. The EMI SE of raw N330 carbon blacks filled with PVDF was about 7 dB and the EMI SE increased to the range from 11 to 15 dB by the activation.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.599-602
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• 2007

23 F/cc grade new type of high density activated carbon from crystalline green cokes type of mesocarbon microbeads has been synthesized by chemical and electrochemical activation. In order for these materials to have high performance, electrochemical behavior during electrochemical activation has been investigated by sequential voltage applying schemes. These results showed that the effective voltage for electrochemical activation was about 2.7~3.2 V irrelevant to applying voltage due to the decrease of surface activation of activated carbon with high specific surface area.

• Carbon letters
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.180-184
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• 2003

The role of KOH in the one-stage KOH-activation of rice straws was studied using FTIR, XPS, TGA, and DTG techniques. It was found that at the impregnation, KOH extracts to some extent the lignin component from rice straw and reacts with hydroxyl groups. On heat-treatment, the impregnated KOH facilitates intermolecular condensation reaction on one hand but retards the thermal degradation of cellulose molecules on the other hand. The oxygen-containing surface functional groups newly created by oxidation of KOH may facilitate the bulk, not controlled, consumption of carbon atoms so that the effective porosities may not be able to be developed by the one-stage activation process.

• Carbon letters
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.127-131
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• 2015

In this work, highly porous carbons were prepared by chemical activation of carbonized biomass-derived aerogels. These aerogels were synthesized from watermelon flesh using a hydrothermal reaction. After carbonization, chemical activation was conducted using potassium hydroxide to enhance the specific surface area and microporosity. The micro-structural properties and morphologies were measured by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The specific surface area and microporosity were investigated by $N_2$/77 K adsorption-desorption isotherms using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method and Barrett-Joyner-Halenda equation, respectively. Hydrogen storage capacity was dependent on the activation temperature. The highest capacity of 2.7 wt% at 77 K and 1 bar was obtained with an activation temperature of $900^{\circ}C$.