Carbon monoliths growth

The decision as to which monolith type to use is therefore dependent on the type of application, but commercial availability and carbon type should also be evaluated. Cordierite and Mast monoliths are commercially available, whereas ACM is not. When cordierite is used in combination with CNFs, possible cracking of the support can occur. For ACM monoliths, the open structure allows high carrier loading and prevents cracking upon the growth of CNF. For integral carbon monoliths in combination with biocatalysts, the pore size and chemistry of the carbon must be tuned to match the properties of the biocatalyst. 

From an application point of view, the volumetric capacities are even more important than that on a gravimetric basis, due to the limited volume of the gas storage tank. Under this consideration, Qian et al. [131] optimized the stractural features of hierarchical porous carbon monolith by incorporating the advantages of MOFs (Cu3(BTC)2) to maximize the volumetric based CO2 capture capability (CO2 capacity in cm per cm adsorbent). The mesoscopic structure of the HCM-Cu3(BTC)2 composites and the parent materials (HCM and Cu3(BTC)2) were characterized by SEM. The SEM micrograph (Fig. 2.24) clearly displays that Cu3(BTC)2 crystallites are bom within the macropores of the HCM matrix. The sponge-like skeleton of HCM before and after the MOF growth remains... 

In the case of soft-template self-assembly synthesis, mesostructure assembly and morphology growth can be controlled concurrently. Due to the versatility of the solvent-based soft-template self-assembly process, highly ordered mesoporous carbons can be produced relatively easily with different morphologies such as thin film and membrane, " monolith,fibre,sphere, rod, single-crystal, " and discus-like crystal. Initially, mesoporous carbons synthesised with soft templates were exclusively in the form of films. " ... 

CNF on cordierite monoliths were prepared as reported elsewhere [6]. In brief, first cordierite monoliths were coated with Y-alumina by dipcoating with a sol. Subsequently, Ni was dispersed by ion exchange. Finally, the monolithic catalyst was reduced in a H2 flow at 823 K and CNF growth was carried out at 873 K using C2H6 as the carbon source. 

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