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Lecture-Designing Carbon Nanotubes for Energy Catalysis: Fundamentals, Processing and Applications

Topic:Designing Carbon Nanotubes for Energy Catalysis: Fundamentals, Processing and Applications

Speaker:Prof. Jian Zhang,Institute of Metal Research

Time:9:00am on 22 April,2011

Place:Room A4 at NIMTE, CAS

 

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been exploited in a wide range of applications including catalyst support, drug delivery, environmental protection, energy storage, etc. Although the chemical vapor deposition is so well developed to allow the massive production, both unresolved scientific questions and high capital cost of CNTs have hindered its large-scale applications. This talk starts from the surface science and atomic structure of carbon, and then highlights the uses of CNTs in energy-involved catalysis routes like H2 production from liquid fuels, olefin production and NH3 synthesis. Recent developments of advanced characterization techniques are being introduced together with some examples. Finally, future research interests of CNTs in catalysis will be presented especially from the economic and industrial viewpoints.

Introduction

Prof. Jian Zhang was born on 1979 and obtained his PhD degree from Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics on 2006. In his doctoral studies (2001 to 2006), he worked on the hydrogen production from liquid ammonia. During his postdoctoral stay with Prof. Robert Schlögl at Fritz Haber Institute of Max Planck Society, from 2006 to 2009, he extended the research field from heterogeneous catalysis to carbon nanomaterials and advanced characterization. He has joined Institute of Metal Research (CAS) from 2009 as a full professor and group leader. The research interests of his group mainly comprise energy catalysis, carbon nanostructures and in-situ characterizations. He has published around 30 papers with an average impact factor of 6.2 on the journals like Science, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., JACS, Advanced Materials, Nano Letters, Chemical Communications.

Representative publications:

1.    Surface-modified carbon nanotubes catalyze oxidative dehydrogenation of n-butane, Science 322 (2008) 73.

2.    Surface chemistry and catalytic reactivity of nanodiamond for the steam-free dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 49 (2010) 8640.

3.    Nanocarbon as robust catalyst: novel mechanistic insight into carbon-mediated catalysis, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 46 (2007) 7319.

4.    Heteroatoms increase the high selectivity in ODH reactions on nanocarbons, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 48 (2009) 6913.

5.    Metal-free phenanthrenequinone cyclotrimer as an effective heterogeneous catalyst, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131 (2009) 11296.

6.    Individual Fe-Co alloy nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes: structural and catalytic properties, Nano Letters 8 (2008) 2738.

7.    CNFs@CNTs: Superior carbon for electrochemical energy storage, Advanced Materials 20 (2008) 1450.

8.    Ionic liquids as precursors for nitrogen-doped graphitic carbon, Advanced Materials 22 (2009) 87.

9.    Commercial Fe- or Co-containing carbon nanotubes as catalysts for NH3 decomposition, Chemical Communications (2007) 1916.

10.    Facile synthesis of carbon nanotube/natural bentonite composites as a stable catalyst for styrene synthesis, Chemical Communications (2008) 6528.