Publications by authors named "Alberto Castro-Muniz"

The preparation of 2H-phase MoS thin nanosheets by electrochemical delamination remains a challenge, despite numerous efforts in this direction. In this work, by choosing appropriate intercalating cations for cathodic delamination, the insertion process was facilitated, leading to a higher degree of exfoliation while maintaining the original 2H-phase of the starting bulk MoS material. Specifically, trimethylalkylammonium cations were tested as electrolytes, outperforming their bulkier tetraalkylammonium counterparts, which have been the focus of past studies.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Microporous polymers with exposed C surfaces have been synthesized by a new pathway of crosslinking fullerenol and terephthaloyl chloride or 1,3,5-benzenetricarbonyl trichloride esterification. The resulting polymers are insoluble solids containing a large ratio of C with hydroxy groups and possess micropores with high specific surface area up to 657 m g. The microporous polymers thus obtained exhibit enhanced hydrogen spillover, which is a unique property of the C surface.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In this work, we have described the characterization of hybrid silica nanoparticles of 50 nm size, showing outstanding size homogeneity, a large surface area, and remarkable CO sorption/desorption capabilities. A wide battery of techniques was conducted ranging from spectroscopies such as: UV-Vis and IR, to microscopies (SEM, AFM) and CO sorption/desorption isotherms, thus with the purpose of the full characterization of the material. The bare SiO (50 nm) nanoparticles modified with 3-aminopropyl (triethoxysilane), APTES@SiO (50 nm), show a remarkable CO sequestration enhancement compared to the pristine material (0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - Hyper-crosslinked polymers (HCPs) were created using a Friedel-Crafts reaction with various precursors, and the impact of adding graphene oxide (GO) was investigated, resulting in highly microporous materials with BET surface areas between 590 and 1120 mg.
  • - The HCP derived from benzene (B1FeM2) and its composite with GO (B1FM2-GO) had the highest surface areas, and their hydrogen adsorption capacities were tested at low temperatures, showing maximum hydrogen uptake of 2.1 wt% and 2.0 wt%, respectively, at a pressure of 4 MPa.
  • - Despite the GO addition improving the density of the composite materials, it
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

By using a carbon-coated anodic aluminum oxide (CAAO) film as a monolithic porous electrode for the immobilization of Trametes laccases (LACs), an attempt is made to control the orientation of LAC molecules toward the electrode surface simply by applying an electric potential to the CAAO film. Because the resulting film is characterized by a myriad of open, simple, and straight nanochannels with diameters as large as 40 nm, the O diffusion problem in pores is minimized, thereby making it possible to highlight the effect of such orientation on the electrocatalytic activity as a biocathode. It has been evidenced that LAC molecules are favorably oriented for a smooth electron transfer from the electrode when the LACs are immobilized with applying a positive voltage to the electrode, and such favorable orientation exhibits 3.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Boron and nitrogen co-doped ordered microporous carbons with high surface areas are obtained by using NaY zeolite as a hard template and an ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetracyanoborate (EMIT), as a BN source. An acetylene-gas supply during a pyrolysis is effective to avoid the unfavourable reaction of zeolite and EMIT.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The main aim of the present work is to precisely understand the sole effect of nitrogen doping on the electrochemical performance of porous carbon materials. To achieve this objective, the whole surface of mesoporous silica (SBA-15) was coated with a thin layer of carbon (about 0.4 nm) with and without N-doping by using acetonitrile and acetylene chemical vapor deposition, respectively.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

High-performance carbon materials for energy storage applications have been obtained by using poly(m-phenylene isophthalamide), PMIA, as a precursor through the chemical activation of the carbonized aramid fiber by using KOH. The yield of the process of activation was remarkably high (25-40 wt%), resulting in activated carbon fibers (ACFs) with ultrahigh surface areas, over 3000 m(2) g(-1) , and pore volumes exceeding 1.50 cm(3) g(-1) , keeping intact the fibrous morphology.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Activated carbon fibers (ACFs) were prepared by chemical activation of poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide (PPTA) with phosphoric acid, with a particular focus on the effects of impregnation ratio and carbonization temperature on both surface chemistry and porous texture. Thermogravimetric studies of the pyrolysis of PPTA impregnated with different amounts of phosphoric acid indicated that this reagent has a strong influence on the thermal degradation of the polymer, lowering the decomposition temperature and increasing the carbon yield. As concerns surface chemistry, TPD and chemical analysis results indicated that the addition of phosphoric acid increases the concentration of oxygenated surface groups, with a maximum at an impregnation ratio of 100 wt.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF