Biomass-Derived Porous Carbon Materials for Li-Ion Battery.

Biomass-based carbon nanofibers (CNF) were synthesized using lignin extracted from sawdust and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) (30:70) with the help of the electrospinning method and subsequent stabilization at 220 °C and carbonization at 800, 900, and 1000 °C. The synthesized CNFs were studied by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, Raman spectroscopy, and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method. The temperature effect shows that CNF carbonized at 800 °C has excellent stability at different current densities and high capacitance. CNF 800 in the first test cycle at a current density of 100 mA/g shows an initial capacity of 798 mAh/g and an initial coulomb efficiency of 69.5%. The CNF 900 and 1000 show an initial capacity of 668 mAh/g and 594 mAh/g, and an initial Coulomb efficiency of 52% and 51%. With a long cycle (for 500 cycles), all three samples at a current density of 500 mA/g show stable cycling in different capacities (CNF 800 in the region of 300-400 mAh/g, CNF 900 and 1000 in the region of 100-200 mAh/g).

Investigation of rice husk derived activated carbon for removal of nitrate contamination from water.

Development of porous carbons with high specific surface area (>1200mg-1) targeted at nitrate removal from aqueous solutions is investigated by chemical activation of carbonized rice husk. Potassium carbonate is used as activating and desilicating agent. The effect of post-synthetic treatment by gas phase ammoxidation with ozone/ammonia or oxidation with concentrated nitric acid followed by nitrification with urea on main physicochemical properties and on the effectiveness of the activated carbons in nitrate removal is compared with those determined for a pristine activated carbonized rice husk sample. The two-fold enhancement of nitrate removal by the urea-modified activated carbon in comparison with pristine and ammoxidated sample is in direct correlation with the development of surface basic groups.

Nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite/si coating by mechanical alloying technique.

A novel approach for depositing hydroxyapatite (HA) films on titanium substrates by using mechanical alloying (MA) technique has been developed. However, it was shown that one-hour heat treatment at 800°C of such mechanically coated HA layer leads to partial transformation of desired HA phase to beta-tri-calcium phosphate (ß-TCP) phase. It appears that the grain boundary and interface defects formed during MA promote this transformation. It was discovered that doping HA by silicon results in hindering this phase transformation process. The Si-doped HA does not show phase transition to ß-TCP or decomposition after heat treatment even at 900°C.