Carbon Nanofibers

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

ISBN 978-1-119-76881-4

Cover image: Pixabay.Com

Cover design by Russell Richardson

Set in size of 11pt and Minion Pro by Manila Typesetting Company, Makati, Philippines

Printed in the USA

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Dedicated to

To Our Daughters

Dr. Manisha Sharan

&

Dr. Chetna Sharon

You make us incredibly fortunate and help us keep our greymatter alive and active

Carbon is an inevitable part of nature and has amazed researchers with its special properties. Various forms of carbon, such as fullerenes, nanotubes, nanofibers, and now graphene, have changed the prospects of future applications. Professor Maheshwar Sharon and I have worked on carbon nanoforms, especially carbon fibers and tubes, for photovoltaic device applications. As there currently isn’t a book that collects all the information related to carbon nanofibers, Carbon Nanofibers: Fundamentals and Applications will help readers interested in carbon nanofibers understand everything about it. In this book the authors cover all aspects concerning the synthesis and applications of carbon nanofibers. I wish them all the best.

Masayoshi Umeno

Emeritus Professor of Nagoya Institute of Technology

Director, C’s Techno Inc.,

Nagoya Science Park, Nagoya, Japan

This book covers the fundamentals and applications of Carbon Nanofiber (CNF), especially the area in which our group is working.

With his first chapter on the fundamentals of CNF, Prof. Maheshwar Sharon, whom we all consider to be the Father of Carbon Nanotechnology in India, has left a trail for generations to come by promoting an understanding of CNF and kindling the spark hidden deep inside this subject.

The next chapter is my humble contribution in honoring the plant kingdom that has been a great source for producing the unique morphologies of CNF that makes it applicable to various areas. This chapter is followed by the role of catalysts and composites in promoting and enhancing the synthesis and application of CNF. We have realized that those who want to enter into the arena of carbon nanomaterials are often stuck with the characterization of CNF. Therefore, a very detailed chapter is devoted to its characterization. Following these five introductory chapters about CNF, the book encompasses its various applications such as its use as a possible superconductor, to adsorb and store hydrogen and as a microwave absorber. The application of CNF for environmental concerns is also touched upon by assessing its usefulness in dye and heavy metal removal from polluted water, its application in lithium-ion battery, solar cell, antenna, cosmetics, usefulness in regenerative medicine and in various aspects of agrotechnology.

My group has ensured that during the process of creating this book they contributed to the best of their ability. Our lengthy critical discussions on many aspects of scientific discoveries and inventions, especially in the field of understanding carbon nanofibers, has enthralled us with the thrilling research pertaining to various applications. I would like to pay my obeisance and gratitude to all those who have strived very hard to contribute to this book.

Dr. Madhuri Sharon

Director, Walchand Center for Research in Nanotechnology and Bionanotechnology, Solapur, India

December 2020

Maheshwar Sharon

Walchand Center for Research in Nanotechnology and Bionanotechnology, WCAS, Solapur, Maharashtra, India

The goal of education is not to increase the amount of knowledge but to create the possibilities for a child to invent and discover, to create men who are capable of doing new things .

Jean Piaget

Carbon (Latin word: carbo “coal”) is a chemical element with symbol Cbelongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Its atomic number is 6 and has the electronic structure of 1s 22s 22p 2. The valence of carbon will depend upon the arrangement of electrons in 2s and 2p orbitals. 2s orbitals are supposed to house maximum of 2 electrons and 2p can possess a maximum of 6 electrons. The energy of electrons in 2s and 2p orbitals is not much different from each other. Therefore, depending upon the condition of the electronic arrangement, carbon atom can show valence of 2 due to hybridization of 2s 12p 1orbitals. The 2s2p orbital can also be hybridized as 2s 12p 2showing a valence of 3. Likewise, 2s2p orbital can be hybridized to show 2s 12p 3configuration making a carbon valence of 4. Carbon compound with 2s 12p 1, i.e., with valence of 2, is rarely seen, and if some carbon compounds are made with such configuration, they are not stable. Most common compounds with configuration of 2s 12p 2(like graphite) and 2s 12p 3(like diamond) are found in nature. Angles between each carbon for 2s 12p 1, 2s 12p 2and 2s 12p 3are shown in Figure 1.1.