Synthesis of Graphene Mesoporous Carbon... Enhanced Hydrogen Production Performance

Graphene Tubes Forming Regularly Connected Mesoporous Structures
Carbon Nanomaterials Applicable to Energy Conversion and Storage Devices

Mesoporous Graphitic Carbon Framework Structure

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] A new meso-porous carbon made from graphene, which has excellent electrical conductivity, has been developed. This material is expected to contribute to accelerating the development of next-generation hydrogen production methods and energy storage devices due to its high electrical conductivity.

A joint research team led by Professor Sanghoon Joo of the Department of Chemistry at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology and Dr. Jinyoung Kim of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology succeeded in synthesizing 'graphene skeleton meso-porous carbon,' where graphene tubes (carbon nanotubes) are regularly connected. The research results were recently published in the chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie.

Synthesis of Graphene Skeleton Meso-porous Carbon

Meso-porous carbon is a carbon nanomaterial with uniformly sized and regularly arranged pores. It has a large reactive surface area, making it suitable for use as a catalyst. However, it has the drawback of low electrical conductivity. For use as a catalyst in water electrolysis systems that produce hydrogen from water or in fuel cells that generate electricity from hydrogen, the material must have high electrical conductivity.

The research team devised a dual templating method using meso-porous silica and molybdenum carbide as templates to overcome this limitation and developed graphene skeleton meso-porous carbon. Baek Doosan, a first author and doctoral researcher in chemical engineering, explained, "When molybdenum carbide is formed into a meso-porous structure, multiple layers of graphene form on the surface. By removing only the molybdenum carbide in this state, meso-porous carbon composed of graphene tubes can be obtained."

Potential Use as Catalyst or Energy Storage Material

Performance of Memodaporous Graphitic Carbon Framework

The catalyst made by combining this material with ruthenium showed higher performance than commercial catalysts (ruthenium, platinum). It also demonstrated excellent performance in commercially available hydrogen production devices. Dr. Jinyoung Kim of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, who conducted this experiment, stated, "This research has laid a significant foundation for improving the performance of alkaline solid membrane water electrolysis devices, which are attracting attention as next-generation hydrogen production devices."

The research team also revealed that this material can be used in energy storage devices. In lithium-ion capacitors, one type of energy storage device, graphene meso-porous carbon showed superior energy storage performance compared to conventional meso-porous carbon.

Professor Sanghoon Joo said, "The newly developed material combines the advantages of meso-porous carbon, graphene, and carbon nanotubes," and added, "It is expected to be applied in various fields such as catalysts or catalyst supports for energy conversion devices, energy storage devices, CO2 adsorbents, and pollutant adsorbents."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.