Microstructural manipulation and architecture design of carbon-based electrochemical systems

Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, February 2014.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Mao, Xianwen
Other Authors: T. Alan Hatton and Gregory C. Rutledge.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/87533
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author Mao, Xianwen
author2 T. Alan Hatton and Gregory C. Rutledge.
author_facet T. Alan Hatton and Gregory C. Rutledge.
Mao, Xianwen
author_sort Mao, Xianwen
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description Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, February 2014.
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spelling mit-1721.1/875332019-04-10T18:51:33Z Microstructural manipulation and architecture design of carbon-based electrochemical systems Mao, Xianwen T. Alan Hatton and Gregory C. Rutledge. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering. Chemical Engineering. Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, February 2014. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references. Carbon materials are important in electrochemistry. The often cited advantages of carbonaceous materials for electrochemical applications include wide potential working windows, tunable electrocatalytic activity for a variety of redox species, and ease of modifications either by covalent or by noncovalent functionalization. My thesis aims at elucidating the structure-property relationships of carbon-based electrochemical systems, to realize several important applications including electrochemical sensing, catalysis, and energy storage. Specifically, I have examined two classes of carbon-based electrochemical systems: electrospun carbon nanofibers (ECNFs) and redox polymer/carbon hybrid systems. For the first type of material system, I have studied the effects of synthesis condition, architecture design, and post-treatment of ECNFs on their electrochemical properties, and explored the applications of ECNFs in electrochemical sensing and energy storage. I have studied the effects of the carbonization condition of ECNFs on their densities of electronic states (DOS) and electrochemical activities for a wide range of redox-active molecules. Additionally, I have demonstrated ultrawide-range electrochemical sensing using substratesupported continuous high-DOS ECNFs. Furthermore, I have examined microwave-assisted controlled oxidation of high-DOS ECNFs for tailoring their electrocapacitive performance. For the second type of material system, I have investigated the assembly methods and structural manipulation of redox polymer/carbon hybrid systems, and explored their applications in energy storage and catalysis. I have demonstrated that a redox-responsive polymer, polyvinylferrocene (PVF), is useful for noncovalent dispersion and redox-controlled precipitation of pristine carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in nonaqueous media. Moreover, using the stable PVF/CNT dispersion, I have demonstrated solution-based fabrication of PVF/CNT hybrids with controlled nanostructures for supercapacitor applications. Furthermore, I have 'demonstrated local oxidation-induced deposition of PVF onto a carbon fiber matrix for electrochemical control over heterogeneous catalysis. by Xianwen Mao. Ph. D. 2014-05-23T19:42:36Z 2014-05-23T19:42:36Z 2013 2014 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/87533 879680062 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 230 pages application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Chemical Engineering.
Mao, Xianwen
Microstructural manipulation and architecture design of carbon-based electrochemical systems
title Microstructural manipulation and architecture design of carbon-based electrochemical systems
title_full Microstructural manipulation and architecture design of carbon-based electrochemical systems
title_fullStr Microstructural manipulation and architecture design of carbon-based electrochemical systems
title_full_unstemmed Microstructural manipulation and architecture design of carbon-based electrochemical systems
title_short Microstructural manipulation and architecture design of carbon-based electrochemical systems
title_sort microstructural manipulation and architecture design of carbon based electrochemical systems
topic Chemical Engineering.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/87533
work_keys_str_mv AT maoxianwen microstructuralmanipulationandarchitecturedesignofcarbonbasedelectrochemicalsystems