Industrially benign super-compressible piezoresistive carbon foams with predefined wetting properties: from environmental to electrical applications.
In the present work electrically conductive, flexible, lightweight carbon sponge materials derived from open-pore structure melamine foams are studied and explored. Hydrophobic and hydrophilic surface properties - depending on the chosen treatment conditions - allow the separation and storage of liquid chemical compounds. Activation of the carbonaceous structures substantially increases the specific surface area from ~4 m(2)g(-1) to ~345 m(2)g(-1), while retaining the original three-dimensional, open-pore structure suitable for hosting, for example, Ni catalyst nanoparticles. In turn the structure is rendered suitable for hydrogenating acetone to 2-propanol and methyl isobutyl ketone as well for growing hierarchical carbon nanotube structures used as electric double-layer capacitor electrodes with specific capacitance of ~40 F/g. Mechanical stress-strain analysis indicates the materials are super-compressible (>70% volume reduction) and viscoelastic with excellent damping behavior (loss of 0.69 ± 0.07), while piezoresistive measurements show very high gauge factors (from ~20 to 50) over a large range of deformations. The cost-effective, robust and scalable synthesis - in conjunction with their fascinating multifunctional utility - makes the demonstrated carbon foams remarkable competitors with other three-dimensional carbon materials typically based on pyrolyzed biopolymers or on covalently bonded graphene and carbon nanotube frameworks.
Technical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Chemical-Biological Centre, Umeå University, SE-90187 Umeå, Sweden.
Tung Ngoc
TN
Pham
Technical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Chemical-Biological Centre, Umeå University, SE-90187 Umeå, Sweden.
Ajaikumar
A
Samikannu
Microelectronics and Materials Physics Laboratories, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4500, FI-90014 University of Oulu, Finland.
Jarmo
J
Kukkola
Microelectronics and Materials Physics Laboratories, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4500, FI-90014 University of Oulu, Finland.
Anne-Riikka
AR
Rautio
Microelectronics and Materials Physics Laboratories, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4500, FI-90014 University of Oulu, Finland.
Olli
O
Pitkänen
Microelectronics and Materials Physics Laboratories, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4500, FI-90014 University of Oulu, Finland.
Aron
A
Dombovari
Microelectronics and Materials Physics Laboratories, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4500, FI-90014 University of Oulu, Finland.
Gabriela Simone
GS
Lorite
Microelectronics and Materials Physics Laboratories, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4500, FI-90014 University of Oulu, Finland.
Teemu
T
Sipola
Microelectronics and Materials Physics Laboratories, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4500, FI-90014 University of Oulu, Finland.
Geza
G
Toth
Microelectronics and Materials Physics Laboratories, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4500, FI-90014 University of Oulu, Finland.
Melinda
M
Mohl
1] Technical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Chemical-Biological Centre, Umeå University, SE-90187 Umeå, Sweden [2] Industrial Chemistry &Reaction Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Process Chemistry Centre, Åbo Akademi University, FI-20500, Åbo-Turku, Finland.
Jyri-Pekka
JP
Mikkola
Microelectronics and Materials Physics Laboratories, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4500, FI-90014 University of Oulu, Finland.
Krisztian
K
Kordas