Eco-friendly synthesis, characterization, and properties of copper oxide nanoparticles in cashew gum/polypyrrole blend for energy storage applications

Conducting biopolymer blend nanocomposites of cashew gum (CG) and polypyrrole (PPy), with varying concentrations of copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles were synthesized through an in-situ polymerization method using water as a sustainable solvent. The formation of blend nanocomposites was characterized using UV-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). UV spectroscopy revealed a significant reduction in absorption intensity with the addition of CuO, indicating enhanced optical properties. FT-IR and XRD analysis confirmed the successful incorporation of CuO into the CG/PPy blend. FE-SEM images revealed the uniform distribution of nanoparticles throughout the biopolymer blend, particularly in the 7 wt% sample. TGA and DSC results demonstrated a significant enhancement in thermal stability, increasing from 352 °C to 412 °C and a rise in the glass transition temperature from 89 °C to 106 °C in the blend nanocomposites. The dielectric constant, dielectric loss, impedance, Nyquist plot, electrical conductivity, and electric modulus were extensively examined at different temperatures and frequencies. The dielectric constant of the CG/PPy blend increased from 2720 to 92,950 with the addition of 7 wt% CuO, measured at 100 Hz. The improved glass transition temperature, thermal stability, and superior electrical properties imply potential usage of the developed nanocomposite in nanoelectronics and energy storage applications.

Fabrication of Helical Carbon Fiber Skeleton Using Arc Glow Discharge Method

An arc glow discharge device was used to prepare a helical carbon fiber skeleton with helical carbon fibers hooked to each other by spraying a hydrogen and ethanol mixture onto the iron wire substrate through the discharge area, using anhydrous ethanol as the carbon source. The samples were characterized by SEM, EDS, Raman and XPS. A growth mechanism of helical carbon fiber driven by C sp3 was proposed. The various growth modes of carbon fiber during the formation of carbon fiber skeleton were investigated. A ring appearance that indicated a change in the direction of carbon fiber growth was observed. And double helical carbon fiber was constructed from single helical carbon fiber in two ways. Super-large carbon fiber with a diameter of about 13 μm was observed, and it was speculated that this super-large carbon fiber is the backbone of the carbon fiber skeleton. The mechanical properties of the carbon fiber skeleton are isotropic.

Preparation and research progress of lignin-based supercapacitor electrode materials

The reserve of lignin in the biological world is the second largest biomass resource after cellulose. Lignin has the characteristics of wide sources, low cost, and rich active components. Due to environmental pollution and energy scarcity, lignin is often used as a substitute good for petrochemical products. Lignin-based functional materials can be prepared by chemical modification or compounding, which are widely used in the fields of energy storage, chemical industry, and medicine. Among them, lignin-based carbon materials have the features of stable chemical properties, large pH application range, ideal electrical conductivity, developed pore size, and high specific surface area, which have great application prospects as supercapacitor materials. This paper mainly introduces the structural properties of lignin, the methods, and mechanisms of carbonization, pore-making, and pore-expansion, as well as the research progress of lignin-based carbon materials for supercapacitors, while looking forward to the future research direction of lignin carbon materials.

Polyaniline/Biopolymer Composite Systems for Humidity Sensor Applications: A Review

The development of polyaniline (PANI)/biomaterial composites as humidity sensor materials represents an emerging area of advanced materials with promising applications. The increasing attention to biopolymer materials as desiccants for humidity sensor components can be explained by their sustainability and propensity to absorb water. This review represents a literature survey, covering the last decade, which is focused on the interrelationship between the core properties and moisture responsiveness of multicomponent polymer/biomaterial composites. This contribution provides an overview of humidity-sensing materials and the corresponding sensors that emphasize the resistive (impedance) type of PANI devices. The key physicochemical properties that affect moisture sensitivity include the following: swelling, water vapor adsorption capacity, porosity, electrical conductivity, and enthalpies of adsorption and vaporization. Some key features of humidity-sensing materials involve the response time, recovery time, and hysteresis error. This work presents a discussion on various types of humidity-responsive composite materials that contain PANI and biopolymers, such as cellulose, chitosan and structurally related systems, along with a brief overview of carbonaceous and ceramic materials. The effect of additive components, such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), for film fabrication and their adsorption properties are also discussed. The mechanisms of hydration and proton transfer, as well as the relationship with conductivity is discussed. The literature survey on hydration reveals that the textural properties (surface area and pore structure) of a material, along with the hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB) play a crucial role. The role of HLB is important in PANI/biopolymer materials for understanding hydration phenomena and hydrophobic effects. Fundamental aspects of hydration studies that are relevant to humidity sensor materials are reviewed. The experimental design of humidity sensor materials is described, and their relevant physicochemical characterization methods are covered, along with some perspectives on future directions in research on PANI-based humidity sensors.

Growth of Carbon Nanocoils by Porous α-Fe2O3/SnO2 Catalyst and Its Buckypaper for High Efficient Adsorption

High-purity (99%) carbon nanocoils (CNCs) have been synthesized by using porous α-Fe2O3/SnO2 catalyst. The yield of CNCs reaches 9,098% after a 6 h growth. This value is much higher than the previously reported data, indicating that this method is promising to synthesize high-purity CNCs on a large scale. It is considered that an appropriate proportion of Fe and Sn, proper particle size distribution, and a loose-porous aggregate structure of the catalyst are the key points to the high-purity growth of CNCs. Benefiting from the high-purity preparation, a CNC Buckypaper was successfully prepared and the electrical, mechanical, and electrochemical properties were investigated comprehensively. Furthermore, as one of the practical applications, the CNC Buckypaper was successfully utilized as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of methylene blue dye from wastewater with an adsorption efficiency of 90.9%. This study provides a facile and economical route for preparing high-purity CNCs, which is suitable for large-quantity production. Furthermore, the fabrication of macroscopic CNC Buckypaper provides promising alternative of adsorbent or other practical applications.

Chemical Vapor Deposition of Carbon Nanocoils Three-Dimensionally in Carbon Fiber Cloth for All-Carbon Supercapacitors

An Au/K bicatalyst-assisted chemical vapor deposition process using C₂H_2(g) to grow high-density carbon nanocoils (CNCs) uniformly on the fibers in carbon fiber cloth substrates three-dimensionally was developed. An as-deposited substrate (2.5 × 1.0 cm²) showed a high electrochemical active surface area (16.53 cm²), suggesting its potential usefulness as the electrode in electrochemical devices. The unique one-dimensional (1D) helical structure of the CNCs shortened the diffusion pathways of the ions in the electrolyte and generated efficient electron conduction routes so that the observed serial resistance R _s was low (3.7 Ω). By employing two-electrode systems, a liquid-state supercapacitor (SC) in H₂SO_4(aq) (1.0 M) and a solid-state SC with a polypropylene (PP) separator immersed in H₂SO_4(aq) (1.0 M)/polyvinylalcohol were assembled and investigated by using CNC-based electrodes. Both devices exhibited approximate rectangular shape profiles in the cyclic voltammetry measurements at various scan rates. The observations indicated their electric double-layer capacitive behaviors. From their galvanostatic charge/discharge curves, the specific capacitances of the liquid SC and the solid SC were measured to be approximately 137 and 163 F/g, respectively. In addition, the solid-state CNC-based SC possessed excellent energy density (15.3 W h/kg) and power density (510 W/kg). The light weight solid SC (0.1965 g, 2.5 × 1.0 cm²) was bendable up to 150° with most of the properties retained.

Graphene/transition metal dichalcogenides hybrid supercapacitor electrode: status, challenges, and perspectives

Supercapacitors, based on fast ion transportation, are among the most promising energy storage solutions that can deliver fast charging-discharging within seconds and exhibit excellent cycling stability. The development of a good electrode material is one of the key factors in enhancing supercapacitor performance. Graphene (G), an allotrope of carbon that consists of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, elicits research attention among scientists in the field of energy storage due to its remarkable properties, such as outstanding electrical conductivity, good chemical stability, and excellent mechanical behavior. Furthermore, numerous studies focus on 2D materials that are analogous to graphene as electrode supercapacitors, including transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Recently, scientists and researchers are exploring TMDs because of the distinct features that make 2D TMDs highly attractive for capacitive energy storage. This study provides an overview of the structure, properties, synthesis methods, and electrochemical performance of G/TMD supercapacitors. Furthermore, the combination of G and TMDs to develop a hybrid structure may increase their energy density by introducing an asymmetric supercapacitor system. We will also discuss the future prospect of this system in the energy field.

Efficient Supercapacitor Energy Storage Using Conjugated Microporous Polymer Networks Synthesized from Buchwald-Hartwig Coupling

Supercapacitors have received increasing interest as energy storage devices due to their rapid charge-discharge rates, high power densities, and high durability. In this work, novel conjugated microporous polymer (CMP) networks are presented for supercapacitor energy storage, namely 3D polyaminoanthraquinone (PAQ) networks synthesized via Buchwald-Hartwig coupling between 2,6-diaminoanthraquinone and aryl bromides. PAQs exhibit surface areas up to 600 m² g^-1 , good dispersibility in polar solvents, and can be processed to flexible electrodes. The PAQs exhibit a three-electrode specific capacitance of 576 F g^-1 in 0.5 m H₂ SO₄ at a current of 1 A g^-1 retaining 80-85% capacitances and nearly 100% Coulombic efficiencies (95-98%) upon 6000 cycles at a current density of 2 A g^-1 . Asymmetric two-electrode supercapacitors assembled by PAQs show a capacitance of 168 F g^-1 of total electrode materials, an energy density of 60 Wh kg^-1 at a power density of 1300 W kg^-1 , and a wide working potential window (0-1.6 V). The asymmetric supercapacitors show Coulombic efficiencies up to 97% and can retain 95.5% of initial capacitance undergo 2000 cycles. This work thus presents novel promising CMP networks for charge energy storage.

High-performance supercapacitors based on conductive graphene combined with Ni(OH)2 nanoflakes

A GNS/Ni(OH)₂ composite with high capacity was obtained via a facile and effective one-step process under alkaline conditions.

Twist fibrous structure of CS–SnO2–PANI ternary hybrid composite for electrochemical capacitance performance

In this study, a twisted fibrous CS–SnO₂–PANI ternary hybrid composite structure was synthesized via a two step method; the CS–SnO₂ hybrid composite was prepared by a simple chemical precipitation method and the resulting CS–SnO₂ suspension was coated with PANI by in situ chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline monomer in acidic medium using ammonium persulphate as the oxidant.

Chemical versus electrochemical synthesis of carbon nano-onion/polypyrrole composites for supercapacitor electrodes

The development of high-surface-area carbon electrodes with a defined pore size distribution and the incorporation of pseudo-active materials to optimize the overall capacitance and conductivity without destroying the stability are at present important research areas. Composite electrodes of carbon nano-onions (CNOs) and polypyrrole (Ppy) were fabricated to improve the specific capacitance of a supercapacitor. The carbon nanostructures were uniformly coated with Ppy by chemical polymerization or by electrochemical potentiostatic deposition to form homogenous composites or bilayers. The materials were characterized by transmission- and scanning electron microscopy, differential thermogravimetric analyses, FTIR spectroscopy, piezoelectric microgravimetry, and cyclic voltammetry. The composites show higher mechanical and electrochemical stabilities, with high specific capacitances of up to about 800 F g(-1) for the CNOs/SDS/Ppy composites (chemical synthesis) and about 1300 F g(-1) for the CNOs/Ppy bilayer (electrochemical deposition).

High Operating Voltage Supercapacitor Using PPy/AC Composite Electrode Based on Simple Dipping Method

As various wearable devices are emerging, self-generated power sources, such as piezoelectric generators, triboelectric generators, and thermoelectric generators, are of interest. To adapt self-generated power sources for application devices, a supercapacitor is necessary because of the short generation times (1–10 ms) and low generated power (1–100 μW) of self-generated power sources. However, to date, supercapacitors are too large to be adapted for wearable devices. There have been many efforts to reduce the size of supercapacitors by using polypyrrole (PPy) for high energy supercapacitor electrodes. However, these supercapacitors have several disadvantages, such as a low operating voltage due to the use of an aqueous electrolyte, and complex manufacturing methods, such as the hydrogel and aerosol methods. In particular, the low operating voltage (~1.0 V) is a significant issue because most electronic components operate above 3.0 V. In this study, we successfully demonstrated the high operating voltage (3.0 V) of a supercapacitor using a PPy/activated carbon (AC) composite electrode based on the chemical polymerization of the PPy by simple dipping. In addition, a twofold enhancement of its energy density was achieved compared with conventional supercapacitors using AC electrodes.

Anomalous impact and strain responses in helical carbon nanotube foams

We describe the quasistatic and dynamic response of helical carbon nanotube (HCNT) foams in compression.

Empirical Correlation of the Morphology of Coiled Carbon Nanotubes with Their Response to Axial Compression

The mechanical response of thirteen different helical multi-walled carbon nanocoils to axial compression is reported. Each nanocoil was attached to the apex of a cantilever probe tip; its dimensions and orientation relative to the tip apex were determined with scanning electron microscopy. The atomic force microscope was employed to apply a cyclic axial load on the nanocoil. Its mechanical response was determined by simultaneous collection of the thermal resonance frequency, displacement, and oscillation amplitude of the cantilever-nanotube system in real time. Depending upon compression parameters, each coil underwent buckling, bending, and slip-stick motion. Characteristic features in the thermal resonance spectrum and in the force and oscillation amplitude curves for each of these responses to induced stress are presented. Following compression studies, the structure and morphology of each nanocoil were determined by transmission electron microscopy. The compression stiffness of each nanocoil was estimated from the resonant frequency of the cantilever at the point of contact with the substrate surface. From this value, the elastic modulus of the nanocoil was computed and correlated with the coiled carbon nanotube’s morphology.

Capacitance enhancement of polyaniline coated curved-graphene supercapacitors in a redox-active electrolyte

We show, for the first time, a redox-active electrolyte in combination with a polyaniline-coated curved graphene active material to achieve significant enhancement in the capacitance (36-92% increase) compared to supercapacitors that lack the redox-active contribution from the electrolyte. The supercapacitors based on the redox-active electrolyte also exhibit excellent rate capability and very long cycling performance (>50,000 cycles).