Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

5-2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Electrical Engineering

First Advisor

Dr. Samir Iqbal

Second Advisor

Dr. Nazmul Islam

Third Advisor

Dr. Laura Benitez

Abstract

In this thesis, An environmentally friendly and rapid synthesis of highly porous carbon nanomaterial is presented. The direct pyrolysis of the cane sugar was achieved in a hand-fabricated Teflon microchamber. Homogeneous heating and quick pyrolysis were carried out in 3 minutes using a household microwave oven. The porosity and surface area enhancement is obtained by in-step decompositions of household baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), a common household chemical. Sodium bicarbonate was specifically used to impregnate porous carbon foam with sodium oxide nanocomplexes, which were later washed to improve surface area and reduce oxygen content, making it suitable for applications such as battery anode. The ill effects of presence of oxygen based impurities in anode carbon material on intercalated alkali ions was analyzed by Density Functional Theory simulations. The surface properties, elemental composition and crystallinity of the material were analyzed with field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) data. The data showed in step development of carbon material into high surface area carbon nanosphere morphologies with reducing oxygen content due to decomposition of sodium bicarbonate.

Comments

Copyright 2020 Varun Gupta. All Rights Reserved.

https://go.openathens.net/redirector/utrgv.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/carbonaceous-nanomaterial-rapid-synthesis/docview/2435506574/se-2?accountid=7119

Download

Share

COinS