Effect of potassium-doping on the microstructure development in polyfurfuryl alcohol - Derived activated carbon

Hongxin Zhang, Vinay V. Bhat, Peter X. Feng, Cristian I. Contescu, Nidia C. Gallego

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Potassium-doped activated carbon was prepared by mixing potassium salt with polyfurfuryl alcohol precursor followed by carbonization and activation. Several experimental techniques, such as thermogravimetric analysis, gas adsorption, X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering spectroscopy were employed to understand the effects of potassium on the texture and pore structures of the activated carbon, which ultimately affects the hydrogen adsorption properties. After doping with potassium, the activated carbon exhibits higher surface area, higher micropore volume, and enhanced hydrogen adsorption capacity. Understanding of how alkali metals affect surface area and micropore development in activated carbon may help to clarify the hydrogen adsorption mechanism and improve the design of suitable carbon-based hydrogen storage materials.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)5278-5285
Number of pages8
JournalCarbon
Volume50
Issue number14
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2012

Funding

This research is supported by the US Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering. PXF and HZ acknowledge partial support by NSF-EPSCoR fellows and HERE program. VVB acknowledge support from ORISE/ORNL postodoctoral programs.

FundersFunder number
NSF-EPSCoR fellows
ORISE/ORNL
US Department of Energy
Basic Energy Sciences
Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering

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