Pub Date : 2025-12-30DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121220
Jiaqi Lan , Qiaowei Lin , Xudong Li , Yun Cao , Haoran Chi , Mengyao Li , Jiayi Li , Da-Wei Wang , Wei Lv
Hard carbon anodes are important to the commercialization of sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), but their electrochemical performances are still limited by low reversible capacity and poor Coulombic efficiency. Lignocellulosic biomass waste is a promising precursor, but the thermochemistry of biochar formation that controls the development of its critical microstructure, closed nanopores and enlarged interlayer distance remains poorly understood. The temperature-driven pyrolysis of the biomass is inevitably accompanied by decomposition, leading to porous structures that facilitate electrolyte side reactions. Here, we show that a pre-carbonization strategy can regulate biochar microstructure through tuning the competition between decomposition and cross-linking in a model biomass waste, mangosteen shells. By optimizing pre-carbonization and the subsequent carbonization, we guide the microstructure evolution to produce a hard carbon that possesses both short-range ordered carbon layers with expanded interlayer distance and abundant closed nanopores, while minimizing specific surface area. These structural features enable highly reversible pore-filling charge storage and rapid Na+ diffusion, delivering a high reversible capacity of 309 mAh g−1 and a high initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) of 81.8 %. Our findings highlight the importance of temperature-driven thermochemistry and microstructure evolution of biomass, which can shed light on electrochemical reactions wherever carbon plays a crucial role.
硬碳阳极对钠离子电池的商业化具有重要意义,但其电化学性能仍然受到可逆容量低和库仑效率差的限制。木质纤维素生物质废弃物是一种很有前途的前驱体,但生物炭形成的热化学过程控制着其关键微观结构、封闭纳米孔和扩大层间距离的发展,但人们对其了解甚少。温度驱动的生物质热解不可避免地伴随着分解,导致多孔结构,有利于电解质的副反应。在这里,我们展示了预碳化策略可以通过调节模型生物质废物山竹壳中分解和交联之间的竞争来调节生物炭的微观结构。通过优化预炭化和后续炭化,我们指导微观结构的演变,生产出具有扩大层间距离的短程有序碳层和丰富的封闭纳米孔的硬碳,同时最小化比表面积。这些结构特征使得高可逆的孔隙填充电荷存储和快速的Na+扩散,提供309 mAh g−1的高可逆容量和81.8%的高初始库仑效率(ICE)。我们的研究结果强调了温度驱动的热化学和生物质微观结构演化的重要性,这可以揭示在碳起关键作用的电化学反应。
{"title":"Tailoring the biochar microstructure to increase closed nanopores in biomass-derived hard carbons for boosting sodium-ion storage","authors":"Jiaqi Lan , Qiaowei Lin , Xudong Li , Yun Cao , Haoran Chi , Mengyao Li , Jiayi Li , Da-Wei Wang , Wei Lv","doi":"10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121220","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121220","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Hard carbon anodes are important to the commercialization of sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), but their electrochemical performances are still limited by low reversible capacity and poor Coulombic efficiency. Lignocellulosic biomass waste is a promising precursor, but the thermochemistry of biochar formation that controls the development of its critical microstructure, closed nanopores and enlarged interlayer distance remains poorly understood. The temperature-driven pyrolysis of the biomass is inevitably accompanied by decomposition, leading to porous structures that facilitate electrolyte side reactions. Here, we show that a pre-carbonization strategy can regulate biochar microstructure through tuning the competition between decomposition and cross-linking in a model biomass waste, mangosteen shells. By optimizing pre-carbonization and the subsequent carbonization, we guide the microstructure evolution to produce a hard carbon that possesses both short-range ordered carbon layers with expanded interlayer distance and abundant closed nanopores, while minimizing specific surface area. These structural features enable highly reversible pore-filling charge storage and rapid Na<sup>+</sup> diffusion, delivering a high reversible capacity of 309 mAh g<sup>−1</sup> and a high initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) of 81.8 %. Our findings highlight the importance of temperature-driven thermochemistry and microstructure evolution of biomass, which can shed light on electrochemical reactions wherever carbon plays a crucial role.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":262,"journal":{"name":"Carbon","volume":"249 ","pages":"Article 121220"},"PeriodicalIF":11.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145940283","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-29DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121212
Zetong Zhuang, Yiqing Zhou, Jiaojiao Feng, Haonan Xiong, Chun Li
Chemically modified graphene (CMG) films, including graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) films, have attracted great interest for their electrical and mechanical properties. A mild oxidation method, in combination with the spatially confined evaporation strategy, is utilized to prepare high performance GO films with minimal nanoscale and microscale defects. Additionally, we find the performance of rGO films is challenged by residual solvent induced by the reduction process. The addition of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC, 5 % in weight) can facilitate the evaporation of solvent during chemical reduction and promote the densification of rGO films. The rGO-CNC composite films show superior mechanical strength (1.17 ± 0.06 GPa), electrical conductivity (1220 ± 60 S cm−1), along with a shielding effectiveness of 35.1 dB in X-band, making them attractive in electromagnetic interference shielding applications.
化学改性石墨烯(CMG)薄膜,包括氧化石墨烯(GO)和还原氧化石墨烯(rGO)薄膜,因其电学和力学性能而引起了人们的广泛关注。采用温和氧化法,结合空间限制蒸发策略,制备了具有最小纳米级和微米级缺陷的高性能氧化石墨烯薄膜。此外,我们发现还原过程中产生的残留溶剂对还原氧化石墨烯薄膜的性能构成了挑战。添加纤维素纳米晶体(CNC,重量5%)可以促进化学还原过程中溶剂的蒸发,促进还原氧化石墨烯薄膜的致密化。rGO-CNC复合膜具有优异的机械强度(1.17±0.06 GPa),电导率(1220±60 S cm−1),以及35.1 dB的x波段屏蔽效能,使其在电磁干扰屏蔽应用中具有吸引力。
{"title":"High-performance chemically modified graphene films via spatially confined evaporation","authors":"Zetong Zhuang, Yiqing Zhou, Jiaojiao Feng, Haonan Xiong, Chun Li","doi":"10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121212","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121212","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Chemically modified graphene (CMG) films, including graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) films, have attracted great interest for their electrical and mechanical properties. A mild oxidation method, in combination with the spatially confined evaporation strategy, is utilized to prepare high performance GO films with minimal nanoscale and microscale defects. Additionally, we find the performance of rGO films is challenged by residual solvent induced by the reduction process. The addition of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC, 5 % in weight) can facilitate the evaporation of solvent during chemical reduction and promote the densification of rGO films. The rGO-CNC composite films show superior mechanical strength (1.17 ± 0.06 GPa), electrical conductivity (1220 ± 60 S cm<sup>−1</sup>), along with a shielding effectiveness of 35.1 dB in X-band, making them attractive in electromagnetic interference shielding applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":262,"journal":{"name":"Carbon","volume":"248 ","pages":"Article 121212"},"PeriodicalIF":11.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145880332","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-29DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121215
Raul D. Rodriguez , Pavel Bakholdin , Tuan-Hoang Tran , Elizaveta Dogadina , Dmitry Cheshev , Dmitry Kogolev , Maxim Fatkullin , Jin-Ju Chen , Tian Ma , Shuang Li , Chong Cheng , Evgeniya Sheremet
Conventional fabrication of integrated carbon electronics often requires material deposition or transfer, which inevitably leads to surface contamination and structural defects. Here, we present a monolithic “Write-Rewrite-Direct” approach for in situ sequential programming of carbon's optical, electrical, and chemical properties from a single parent graphite crystal, overcoming the challenges of material transfer. First, we introduce Catalyst-Enhanced Electrochemical Lithography (CEEL), an acid-free route that exploits MoS2 electrocatalysis to "write" atomically smooth epitaxy-like graphene oxide (GO) directly onto graphite. In contrast to conventional electrochemical oxidation of graphite, which yields rough surfaces, CEEL produces mechanically robust, vivid photonic structures with intense structural colors. We validate this monolithic integration by fabricating the first all-carbon field-effect transistor with a vertical gate-dielectric-channel configuration, without any lithographic patterning of contacts or lift-off processes. Second, we "rewrite" these films with a tightly focused laser to produce laser-reduced graphene oxide (LrGO) vertical interconnects. This enables us to draw all-carbon free-form, high-resolution LrGO circuits within the larger, electrochemically defined GO structure. Finally, we exploit this hierarchical control to "direct" the selective assembly of plasmonic nanostructures onto the LrGO patterns, integrating plasmonic microreactors and chemical sensing capabilities. This "Write-Rewrite-Direct" paradigm is a potential enabler of next-generation all-carbon electronics, offering a maskless route to creating dynamic, reconfigurable surfaces, including field-effect transistors and advanced sensing and photocatalytic platforms monolithically integrated in a single device.
{"title":"Writing, rewriting, and directing matter on a graphene canvas","authors":"Raul D. Rodriguez , Pavel Bakholdin , Tuan-Hoang Tran , Elizaveta Dogadina , Dmitry Cheshev , Dmitry Kogolev , Maxim Fatkullin , Jin-Ju Chen , Tian Ma , Shuang Li , Chong Cheng , Evgeniya Sheremet","doi":"10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121215","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121215","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Conventional fabrication of integrated carbon electronics often requires material deposition or transfer, which inevitably leads to surface contamination and structural defects. Here, we present a monolithic “Write-Rewrite-Direct” approach for in situ sequential programming of carbon's optical, electrical, and chemical properties from a single parent graphite crystal, overcoming the challenges of material transfer. First, we introduce Catalyst-Enhanced Electrochemical Lithography (CEEL), an acid-free route that exploits MoS<sub>2</sub> electrocatalysis to \"write\" atomically smooth epitaxy-like graphene oxide (GO) directly onto graphite. In contrast to conventional electrochemical oxidation of graphite, which yields rough surfaces, CEEL produces mechanically robust, vivid photonic structures with intense structural colors. We validate this monolithic integration by fabricating the first all-carbon field-effect transistor with a vertical gate-dielectric-channel configuration, without any lithographic patterning of contacts or lift-off processes. Second, we \"rewrite\" these films with a tightly focused laser to produce laser-reduced graphene oxide (LrGO) vertical interconnects. This enables us to draw all-carbon free-form, high-resolution LrGO circuits within the larger, electrochemically defined GO structure. Finally, we exploit this hierarchical control to \"direct\" the selective assembly of plasmonic nanostructures onto the LrGO patterns, integrating plasmonic microreactors and chemical sensing capabilities. This \"Write-Rewrite-Direct\" paradigm is a potential enabler of next-generation all-carbon electronics, offering a maskless route to creating dynamic, reconfigurable surfaces, including field-effect transistors and advanced sensing and photocatalytic platforms monolithically integrated in a single device.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":262,"journal":{"name":"Carbon","volume":"249 ","pages":"Article 121215"},"PeriodicalIF":11.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145940278","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-27DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121210
Jianye Zhang , Qiang Fu , Zhimeng Ma , Mingbo Yue
Carbon dots (CDs), as a novel class of fluorescent carbon nanomaterials, demonstrate significant potential in information storage and encryption applications owing to their exceptional optical properties. The development of tunable fluorescence and time-dependent dynamic fluorescence holds promise for significantly enhancing the security level of information storage. However, integrating these outstanding properties into CDs based luminescent materials remains a challenge. In this study, we developed a composite system based on naphthalimide-functionalized CDs and triethanolamine, achieving the integration of concentration-dependent photo-responsive multicolor fluorescence (after continuous ultraviolet irradiation for 6–300 s, the photo-responsive fluorescence color exhibits a red-to-green (650–540 nm) tunability with the decrease of N-CDs concentration from 0.69 to 0.05 wt%) and photo-responsive dynamic fluorescence. Notably, this system also exhibits a rare dynamic fluorescence characteristic that evolves with irradiation time. The color switching is reversibly achieved through exposure to air or shaking. Research indicates that the photo-responsive fluorescence originates from radicals generated via ultraviolet induced charge transfer. The photo-responsive multicolor fluorescence and dynamic fluorescence originate from the differential superposition of the fluorescence peaks at 540, 610 and 650 nm, which are generated by the different combinations of naphthalimide radical excimers and monomers formed in the N-CDs@TEOA system under continuous UV irradiation. Based on this, we have successfully achieved recyclable dynamic information encoding through precise control of both concentration and photo-response timing, thereby significantly enhancing the security level of current information storage systems.
{"title":"Concentration-dependent multicolor and photo-responsive dynamic fluorescent carbon dots for recyclable dynamic information encoding","authors":"Jianye Zhang , Qiang Fu , Zhimeng Ma , Mingbo Yue","doi":"10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121210","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121210","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Carbon dots (CDs), as a novel class of fluorescent carbon nanomaterials, demonstrate significant potential in information storage and encryption applications owing to their exceptional optical properties. The development of tunable fluorescence and time-dependent dynamic fluorescence holds promise for significantly enhancing the security level of information storage. However, integrating these outstanding properties into CDs based luminescent materials remains a challenge. In this study, we developed a composite system based on naphthalimide-functionalized CDs and triethanolamine, achieving the integration of concentration-dependent photo-responsive multicolor fluorescence (after continuous ultraviolet irradiation for 6–300 s, the photo-responsive fluorescence color exhibits a red-to-green (650–540 nm) tunability with the decrease of N-CDs concentration from 0.69 to 0.05 wt%) and photo-responsive dynamic fluorescence. Notably, this system also exhibits a rare dynamic fluorescence characteristic that evolves with irradiation time. The color switching is reversibly achieved through exposure to air or shaking. Research indicates that the photo-responsive fluorescence originates from radicals generated via ultraviolet induced charge transfer. The photo-responsive multicolor fluorescence and dynamic fluorescence originate from the differential superposition of the fluorescence peaks at 540, 610 and 650 nm, which are generated by the different combinations of naphthalimide radical excimers and monomers formed in the N-CDs@TEOA system under continuous UV irradiation. Based on this, we have successfully achieved recyclable dynamic information encoding through precise control of both concentration and photo-response timing, thereby significantly enhancing the security level of current information storage systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":262,"journal":{"name":"Carbon","volume":"248 ","pages":"Article 121210"},"PeriodicalIF":11.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145880415","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-27DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121211
Christos Pantazidis , Winnie Kong , Antoni Forner-Cuenca , Željko Tomović
Carbon aerogels are highly porous, lightweight materials valued for their tunable structure, chemical versatility, and multifunctional performance. The combination of high surface area, thermal stability, and heteroatom doping potential makes them suitable for applications ranging from thermal insulation to energy storage and catalysis. In this work, we report the synthesis of heteroatom-containing carbon aerogels derived from aromatic poly(imine-cyanurate) networks via a sol-gel process followed by pyrolysis. Three distinct imine-based precursor systems were designed to yield aerogels with comparable macroscopic characteristics but differing nanostructures. Upon carbonization at temperatures ranging from 500 to 1100 °C, the resulting carbon aerogels exhibited low bulk densities (183–496 mg cm−3), high porosity (76–90 %), and tunable surface areas up to 540 m2 g−1. Their versatility was demonstrated by evaluating them in two application areas: thermal insulation and electrochemical energy storage. The aerogels displayed thermal conductivities as low as 20.4 mW m−1 K−1, along with flame resistance and mechanical robustness. Electrochemical analysis further revealed promising capacitance behavior, with specific electrochemical double layer capacitance values that, in some cases, surpassed those of commercial carbon black (Vulcan XC-72R). These results underscore the potential of aromatic poly(imine-cyanurate)-derived carbon aerogels as a versatile platform for application-driven materials design.
{"title":"Poly(imine-cyanurate)-derived carbon aerogels with tunable morphology and multifunctional performance","authors":"Christos Pantazidis , Winnie Kong , Antoni Forner-Cuenca , Željko Tomović","doi":"10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121211","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121211","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Carbon aerogels are highly porous, lightweight materials valued for their tunable structure, chemical versatility, and multifunctional performance. The combination of high surface area, thermal stability, and heteroatom doping potential makes them suitable for applications ranging from thermal insulation to energy storage and catalysis. In this work, we report the synthesis of heteroatom-containing carbon aerogels derived from aromatic poly(imine-cyanurate) networks via a sol-gel process followed by pyrolysis. Three distinct imine-based precursor systems were designed to yield aerogels with comparable macroscopic characteristics but differing nanostructures. Upon carbonization at temperatures ranging from 500 to 1100 °C, the resulting carbon aerogels exhibited low bulk densities (183–496 mg cm<sup>−3</sup>), high porosity (76–90 %), and tunable surface areas up to 540 m<sup>2</sup> g<sup>−1</sup>. Their versatility was demonstrated by evaluating them in two application areas: thermal insulation and electrochemical energy storage. The aerogels displayed thermal conductivities as low as 20.4 mW m<sup>−1</sup> K<sup>−1</sup>, along with flame resistance and mechanical robustness. Electrochemical analysis further revealed promising capacitance behavior, with specific electrochemical double layer capacitance values that, in some cases, surpassed those of commercial carbon black (Vulcan XC-72R). These results underscore the potential of aromatic poly(imine-cyanurate)-derived carbon aerogels as a versatile platform for application-driven materials design.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":262,"journal":{"name":"Carbon","volume":"249 ","pages":"Article 121211"},"PeriodicalIF":11.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145940281","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-27DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121209
Zhenhang Zhong , Lingyan Zhao , Yuan Feng , Qing He , Jinghui Chen , Shanshan Song , Xuanpeng Wang , Zhenjun Song , Jiashen Meng
The increasing consumption of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has intensified the need to recycle spent graphite (SG) anodes. Conventional regeneration methods are complex, energy-intensive, and environmentally burdened. Here, we demonstrate a direct and efficient strategy to repurpose SG as a high-performance cathode material for molten salt aluminum batteries. Owing to its naturally expanded interlayer spacing and defect-rich structure formed during prior LIB cycling, SG provides strain-tolerant pathways for the rapid intercalation of bulky AlCl4− anions, enabling intrinsic fast-charging capability. At 120 °C, the SG delivers a reversible capacity of 94.5 mAh g−1 after 900 cycles at 1 A g−1 and maintains stable operation for 5000 cycles at 10 A g−1. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy coupled with distribution of relaxation times (DRT) analysis reveals reduced diffusion polarization and stable charge-transfer resistance, confirming the enhanced ion-transport kinetics afforded by the SG structure. This work provides a scalable and sustainable route for direct SG reuse and offers new insights into defect-assisted fast-charging mechanisms in advanced aluminum-ion batteries.
锂离子电池(LIBs)消耗量的增加,加剧了回收废石墨(SG)阳极的需求。传统的再生方法复杂、能源密集、环境负担重。在这里,我们展示了一种直接而有效的策略,将SG重新用作熔盐铝电池的高性能正极材料。由于其自然扩大的层间距和先前LIB循环形成的富含缺陷的结构,SG为大体积AlCl4−阴离子的快速插入提供了应变耐受途径,从而实现了固有的快速充电能力。在120°C时,SG在1 a g−1下循环900次后可提供94.5 mAh g−1的可逆容量,并在10 a g−1下保持5000次稳定运行。电化学阻抗谱结合弛豫时间分布(DRT)分析表明,SG结构的扩散极化降低,电荷转移电阻稳定,证实了SG结构增强了离子传输动力学。这项工作为SG的直接再利用提供了一种可扩展和可持续的途径,并为先进铝离子电池的缺陷辅助快速充电机制提供了新的见解。
{"title":"Spent graphite-enabled fast-charging molten salt aluminum battery","authors":"Zhenhang Zhong , Lingyan Zhao , Yuan Feng , Qing He , Jinghui Chen , Shanshan Song , Xuanpeng Wang , Zhenjun Song , Jiashen Meng","doi":"10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121209","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121209","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The increasing consumption of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has intensified the need to recycle spent graphite (SG) anodes. Conventional regeneration methods are complex, energy-intensive, and environmentally burdened. Here, we demonstrate a direct and efficient strategy to repurpose SG as a high-performance cathode material for molten salt aluminum batteries. Owing to its naturally expanded interlayer spacing and defect-rich structure formed during prior LIB cycling, SG provides strain-tolerant pathways for the rapid intercalation of bulky AlCl<sub>4</sub><sup>−</sup> anions, enabling intrinsic fast-charging capability. At 120 °C, the SG delivers a reversible capacity of 94.5 mAh g<sup>−1</sup> after 900 cycles at 1 A g<sup>−1</sup> and maintains stable operation for 5000 cycles at 10 A g<sup>−1</sup>. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy coupled with distribution of relaxation times (DRT) analysis reveals reduced diffusion polarization and stable charge-transfer resistance, confirming the enhanced ion-transport kinetics afforded by the SG structure. This work provides a scalable and sustainable route for direct SG reuse and offers new insights into defect-assisted fast-charging mechanisms in advanced aluminum-ion batteries.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":262,"journal":{"name":"Carbon","volume":"248 ","pages":"Article 121209"},"PeriodicalIF":11.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145880417","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-27DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121213
Huan Yang , Wen-qi Cui , Xing-hai Zhou , Shui-yuan He , Zhi Jia , Jia-hao Sun , Shang-ru Zhai , Yong-fang Qian , Yuan Gao , Gang Wang , Li-hua Lyu , Hong-zhu Liu , Zhong-gang Wang
To address the escalating electromagnetic wave (EMW) pollution, the development of advanced absorbers with lightweight property, broad bandwidth, and strong attenuation capabilities is urgently required. This study fabricates bionic hierarchical porous carbon fiber (HPCF) featuring a honeycomb-like skeleton and surface cactus-spine-like hollow nanotubes for high-performance electromagnetic wave absorption (EMWA). The HPCF is synthesized via an integrated process combining electro-blowing spinning, hydrothermal reaction, and carbonization technique. The honeycomb-like skeleton of the porous carbon fiber forms an electrically conductive network, enhancing conductive loss. The surface cactus-spine-like hollow nanotubes create abundant interfaces and sharp conductive tips, promoting interfacial and dipole polarization loss. The synergistic honeycomb-like/cactus-spine-like structure offers a large specific surface area and high porosity, which not only facilitates multiple reflection/scattering to dissipate EMW energy, but also traps high volume fraction of air to improve impedance matching. Notably, at a low filler loading of 15 wt% and a thin thickness of 1.5 mm, the optimized HPCF-2 achieves an ultra-strong reflection loss (RL) of −55.35 dB, and an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB, RL < −10 dB) of 3.80 GHz. This work presents a bionic strategy for developing lightweight, broadband, and high-efficiency absorbers for next-generation stealth and shielding applications.
{"title":"Bionic hierarchical porous carbon fibers with honeycomb-like skeleton and surface cactus-spine-like hollow nanotubes for high-performance electromagnetic wave absorption","authors":"Huan Yang , Wen-qi Cui , Xing-hai Zhou , Shui-yuan He , Zhi Jia , Jia-hao Sun , Shang-ru Zhai , Yong-fang Qian , Yuan Gao , Gang Wang , Li-hua Lyu , Hong-zhu Liu , Zhong-gang Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121213","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121213","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To address the escalating electromagnetic wave (EMW) pollution, the development of advanced absorbers with lightweight property, broad bandwidth, and strong attenuation capabilities is urgently required. This study fabricates bionic hierarchical porous carbon fiber (HPCF) featuring a honeycomb-like skeleton and surface cactus-spine-like hollow nanotubes for high-performance electromagnetic wave absorption (EMWA). The HPCF is synthesized via an integrated process combining electro-blowing spinning, hydrothermal reaction, and carbonization technique. The honeycomb-like skeleton of the porous carbon fiber forms an electrically conductive network, enhancing conductive loss. The surface cactus-spine-like hollow nanotubes create abundant interfaces and sharp conductive tips, promoting interfacial and dipole polarization loss. The synergistic honeycomb-like/cactus-spine-like structure offers a large specific surface area and high porosity, which not only facilitates multiple reflection/scattering to dissipate EMW energy, but also traps high volume fraction of air to improve impedance matching. Notably, at a low filler loading of 15 wt% and a thin thickness of 1.5 mm, the optimized HPCF<sub>-2</sub> achieves an ultra-strong reflection loss (RL) of −55.35 dB, and an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB, RL < −10 dB) of 3.80 GHz. This work presents a bionic strategy for developing lightweight, broadband, and high-efficiency absorbers for next-generation stealth and shielding applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":262,"journal":{"name":"Carbon","volume":"248 ","pages":"Article 121213"},"PeriodicalIF":11.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145880412","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Conversion-type transition metal sulfides are promising cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries. However, their practical deployment is severely limited by structural and interfacial degradation resulting from irregular three-dimensional volume changes, which lead to poor reaction kinetics and cycling stability. Confining such irregular 3D volume variations to a controllable low dimension is a more viable approach to addressing such fundamental challenges. In this work, we constructed a sp-carbon-mediated 2D/quasi-2D heterojunction by integrating graphdiyne (GDY) with quasi-2D NiCo2S4 nanosheets. This configuration facilitates the formation of a 2D built-in electric field and shortens the ion diffusion distance, thereby enhancing interfacial charge transfer and boosting reaction kinetics. The well-defined 2D interfacial hybridization leverages the exceptional mechanical stability and excellent ion/electron transport properties of GDY. The synergy effect among physical confinement, chemical interaction, and ion-selective transport within this structure significantly enhances the electrode's structural and interfacial stability. As a result, the NiCo2S4 cathode achieves a remarkable energy density high up to 770 Wh kg −1 along with robust long-term cycling performance. Besides, these findings offer valuable insights into tackling the challenges associated with large-volume-expansion electrodes.
{"title":"sp-carbon-mediated 2D/quasi-2D interfacial hybridization for stable sodium-ion storage","authors":"Zicheng Zuo , Xiaoya Gao , Shining Zhang , Zhe Chen , Yuanyuan Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121208","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121208","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Conversion-type transition metal sulfides are promising cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries. However, their practical deployment is severely limited by structural and interfacial degradation resulting from irregular three-dimensional volume changes, which lead to poor reaction kinetics and cycling stability. Confining such irregular 3D volume variations to a controllable low dimension is a more viable approach to addressing such fundamental challenges. In this work, we constructed a sp-carbon-mediated 2D/quasi-2D heterojunction by integrating graphdiyne (GDY) with quasi-2D NiCo<sub>2</sub>S<sub>4</sub> nanosheets. This configuration facilitates the formation of a 2D built-in electric field and shortens the ion diffusion distance, thereby enhancing interfacial charge transfer and boosting reaction kinetics. The well-defined 2D interfacial hybridization leverages the exceptional mechanical stability and excellent ion/electron transport properties of GDY. The synergy effect among physical confinement, chemical interaction, and ion-selective transport within this structure significantly enhances the electrode's structural and interfacial stability. As a result, the NiCo<sub>2</sub>S<sub>4</sub> cathode achieves a remarkable energy density high up to 770 Wh kg <sup>−1</sup> along with robust long-term cycling performance. Besides, these findings offer valuable insights into tackling the challenges associated with large-volume-expansion electrodes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":262,"journal":{"name":"Carbon","volume":"248 ","pages":"Article 121208"},"PeriodicalIF":11.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145880416","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-26DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121207
Can Su, Xifeng Xia, Haiyan Jing, Peng Zhao, Junjie Shu, Boyuan Liu, Wu Lei, Mingzhu Xia, Qingli Hao
The conductive fillers have been widely studied as the conductive network between zinc particles to directly improve its active corrosion protection in zinc-rich epoxy coating technology. However, the inevitable formation of products with poor conductivity on zinc surface caused by corrosion reaction, still seriously leads to low expenditure of zinc and further impedes the protection of steel substrate. Herein, we introduced a novel corrosion inhibitor of 1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid (HEDP) into conductive filler, which could effectively trap the Zn2+ during corrosion and thus mitigate the byproduct formation on zinc surface. The experimental results strongly confirmed that the HEDP-containing conductive filler significantly improved the coating corrosion protection behavior and retarded the corrosion products formation under 70 days immersion in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution. Besides, the density functional theory (DFT) calculation revealed that the Zn2+ formed during corrosion could be immediately combined with the HEDP from conductive filler rather than OH− from corrosion solution, further proving the superiority of HEDP introduction. This work provides guidelines to effectively improve the zinc utilization on rationally designed conductive fillers for zinc-rich epoxy coating.
{"title":"Unlocking multi-stage corrosion protection in zinc-rich epoxy coatings via HEDP-modified graphene/polyaniline: Synchronous activation of zinc and barrier enhancement","authors":"Can Su, Xifeng Xia, Haiyan Jing, Peng Zhao, Junjie Shu, Boyuan Liu, Wu Lei, Mingzhu Xia, Qingli Hao","doi":"10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121207","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121207","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The conductive fillers have been widely studied as the conductive network between zinc particles to directly improve its active corrosion protection in zinc-rich epoxy coating technology. However, the inevitable formation of products with poor conductivity on zinc surface caused by corrosion reaction, still seriously leads to low expenditure of zinc and further impedes the protection of steel substrate. Herein, we introduced a novel corrosion inhibitor of 1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid (HEDP) into conductive filler, which could effectively trap the Zn<sup>2+</sup> during corrosion and thus mitigate the byproduct formation on zinc surface. The experimental results strongly confirmed that the HEDP-containing conductive filler significantly improved the coating corrosion protection behavior and retarded the corrosion products formation under 70 days immersion in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution. Besides, the density functional theory (DFT) calculation revealed that the Zn<sup>2+</sup> formed during corrosion could be immediately combined with the HEDP from conductive filler rather than OH<sup>−</sup> from corrosion solution, further proving the superiority of HEDP introduction. This work provides guidelines to effectively improve the zinc utilization on rationally designed conductive fillers for zinc-rich epoxy coating.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":262,"journal":{"name":"Carbon","volume":"248 ","pages":"Article 121207"},"PeriodicalIF":11.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145836629","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-26DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121206
Yiting He , Tao Yang , Yan Song , Ning Zhao , Xiaodong Tian , Zhanjun Liu
Flexible electrospun carbon nanofibers (CF) have been successfully fabricated from coal tar pitch (CTP). The incorporation of benzenetricarboxylic acid (BTC) induces profound structural evolution in the resulting CF, exhibiting expanded interlayer spacing, increased structural disorder, hierarchical porous architectures and excellent flexibility. This precise structural control is achieved through a novel BTC-assisted air-blowing oxidation strategy, which effectively addresses the inherent challenges of CTP's low reactivity and slow oxygen diffusion kinetics. Systematic investigation reveals that BTC, by effectively lowering the activation energy of the oxidation reaction, not only promotes the formation of stable oxygen-bridged and methylene-bridged bonds among CTP molecules but also facilitates the cyclization of the electrospinning assistant, polyacrylonitrile (PAN), into thermostable ladder structures at a relatively lower temperature, thereby tailoring the subsequent carbonization behavior and the architecture of the resulting CF. The work reveals the promotion mechanism of BTC and provides an efficient methodology for the rapid synthesis of high-performance flexible carbon materials.
{"title":"Benzenetricarboxylic acid assisted-air blowing oxidation on the efficient preparation of flexible coal tar pitch/polyacrylonitrile carbon nanofibers","authors":"Yiting He , Tao Yang , Yan Song , Ning Zhao , Xiaodong Tian , Zhanjun Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121206","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.carbon.2025.121206","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Flexible electrospun carbon nanofibers (CF) have been successfully fabricated from coal tar pitch (CTP). The incorporation of benzenetricarboxylic acid (BTC) induces profound structural evolution in the resulting CF, exhibiting expanded interlayer spacing, increased structural disorder, hierarchical porous architectures and excellent flexibility. This precise structural control is achieved through a novel BTC-assisted air-blowing oxidation strategy, which effectively addresses the inherent challenges of CTP's low reactivity and slow oxygen diffusion kinetics. Systematic investigation reveals that BTC, by effectively lowering the activation energy of the oxidation reaction, not only promotes the formation of stable oxygen-bridged and methylene-bridged bonds among CTP molecules but also facilitates the cyclization of the electrospinning assistant, polyacrylonitrile (PAN), into thermostable ladder structures at a relatively lower temperature, thereby tailoring the subsequent carbonization behavior and the architecture of the resulting CF. The work reveals the promotion mechanism of BTC and provides an efficient methodology for the rapid synthesis of high-performance flexible carbon materials.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":262,"journal":{"name":"Carbon","volume":"248 ","pages":"Article 121206"},"PeriodicalIF":11.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145880336","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}