Biomass burning and decomposition contributes to 18% of global CO2 emissions. Biomass can be converted by pyrolysis in an oxygen limited environment to biochar, a carbon negative material as it can sequester the carbon for long term [1]. Biochar is a sustainable source to fabricate functional carbon materials. It is intrinsically doped with heteroatoms and the availability of functional groups facilitates the synthesis of carbon materials with tunable structural and surface properties [2]. In this seminar, the synthesis and characterization of biomass derived heteroatom doped carbon materials will be discussed. Amorphous carbon materials derived from coco peat waste by KOH activation and melamine as pore-directing template are synthesized to obtain N-doped carbon with tunable pore structures. The relative effects of N-doping and pore structure of carbon for carbon dioxide adsorption under ambient conditions have been studied [3]. Further, chitosan hydrogel precursors have been used to synthesize ultra-microporous carbon through an alkali-free route. These carbon materials show excellent CO2 adsorption capacity that matches conventional alkali activated carbons. In a separate work oxygen functionalized, ultra-hydrophilic carbon is also synthesized. These carbons have been employed as electrode materials for capacitive deionization to achieve water desalination. Finally, boron, nitrogen co-doped carbon materials derived from chitosan are employed as support material for metal oxide catalyst for electrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonia.

References:

[1] D.L. Sanchez, J.H. Nelson, J. Johnston, A. Mileva, D.M. Kammen, Nature Clim Change 5 (2015) 230–234.
[2] S. Kumar, X.T. Cao, Coord. Chem. Rev. 499 (2024) 215524.
[3] S.M. Varghese, A.R. Chowdhury, D.N. Arnepalli, G. Ranga Rao, Carbon Trends 10 (2023) 100250.