CarbonPub Date : 2026-06-01Epub Date: 2026-06-10DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121626
Rakesh Reghunath , P. Dileep , Mehar Al Minnath , T.G. Unnikrishnan , Soney C. George , Nandakumar Kalarikkal , K.P. Murali , Jinu Paul
{"title":"KETJENBLACK-REINFORCED CHLOROPRENE RUBBER/BROMINATED BUTYL RUBBER BLENDS: A LEAP FORWARD IN OZONE AND UV STABILITY, AIR PERMEABILITY, AND TRIBOLOGICAL PERFORMANCE","authors":"Rakesh Reghunath , P. Dileep , Mehar Al Minnath , T.G. Unnikrishnan , Soney C. George , Nandakumar Kalarikkal , K.P. Murali , Jinu Paul","doi":"10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121626","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121626","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":262,"journal":{"name":"Carbon","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 121626"},"PeriodicalIF":11.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148230568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CarbonPub Date : 2026-06-01Epub Date: 2026-06-10DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121632
Jiahong Huang , Zhu Jiang , Lei Zhong , Hai Li , Xihong Zu , Qiyu Liu , Wenli Zhang , Xueqing Qiu
{"title":"ENGINEERING THE PYROLYSIS AND CARBONIZATION PARAMETERS TO REGULATE THE MICROSTRUCTURE AND SODIUM-ION STORAGE PERFORMANCE OF HARD CARBON ANODES","authors":"Jiahong Huang , Zhu Jiang , Lei Zhong , Hai Li , Xihong Zu , Qiyu Liu , Wenli Zhang , Xueqing Qiu","doi":"10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121632","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121632","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":262,"journal":{"name":"Carbon","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 121632"},"PeriodicalIF":11.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148230660","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CarbonPub Date : 2026-06-01Epub Date: 2026-06-10DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121627
Fuhu Li , Jing You , Qianyu Zhang , Ye Zhang , Junfeng Rong
{"title":"THE LOADING OF NANO-BIMETALLIC CATALYSTS ONTO COAL TAR PITCH-BASED ACTIVATED CARBON FIBERS FOR THE EFFICIENT REDUCTION OF P-NITROPHENOL","authors":"Fuhu Li , Jing You , Qianyu Zhang , Ye Zhang , Junfeng Rong","doi":"10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121627","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121627","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":262,"journal":{"name":"Carbon","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 121627"},"PeriodicalIF":11.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148230569","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CarbonPub Date : 2026-03-25Epub Date: 2026-02-09DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121334
Jinke Shen , Xiaqing Chang , Yuchen Zhang , Zhoujing Yang , Hongyu Mi , Fengjiao Guo , Zhiyu Wang , Bingbing Gong , Zhi Su
{"title":"Hierarchical structure engineering of coal tar pitch-derived carbon enables ultra-stable zinc-ion hybrid capacitors","authors":"Jinke Shen , Xiaqing Chang , Yuchen Zhang , Zhoujing Yang , Hongyu Mi , Fengjiao Guo , Zhiyu Wang , Bingbing Gong , Zhi Su","doi":"10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121334","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121334","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Zinc-ion hybrid capacitors (ZHCs) represent a promising class of energy storage devices. However, the rational design of cathode materials rich in active sites for efficient Zn<sup>2+</sup> storage remains challenging. Through a hierarchical modulation strategy designed to synergistically optimize the pore structure and surface chemistry of carbon material, we develop a N/P/O co-doped, coal tar pitch (CTP)-derived hierarchically porous carbon (NP-OPC) for effectively zinc storage. Acid oxidation effectively suppresses polycondensation of CTP, while pre-carbonization with N/P dopant generates an initial porous framework in the carbon precursor and a heteroatom-affine environment, collectively enhancing the efficiency of KOH activation and promoting heteroatom doping during carbonization. The resulting NP-OPC possesses a well-developed hierarchical porosity, an ultrahigh surface area of 3522.2 m<sup>2</sup> g<sup>−1</sup>, and substantial heteroatom doping of N (∼6.12 at.%), P (∼2.07 at.%), and O (∼8.14 at.%). The structural properties provide sufficient active sites for Zn<sup>2+</sup> adsorption, rapid ion/electron transport, and optimized surface physicochemical properties. Consequently, the NP-OPC based aqueous ZHC delivers an exceptional capacity of 207.3 mAh g<sup>−1</sup> at 0.2 A g<sup>−1</sup> and exhibits exceptional cycling stability, retaining 91.1% of its initial capacity after 30,000 cycles at 10 A g<sup>−1</sup>. Moreover, the assembled pouch device achieves both high energy density (138.6 Wh kg<sup>−1</sup>) and superior durability (89.5% capacity retention after 70,000 cycles at 10 A g<sup>−1</sup>). Through <em>ex situ</em> analyses and theoretical calculations, we elucidate the charge storage mechanism and identify the origin of the enhanced performance. This study offers a new avenue for the design of high-performance carbon materials derived from CTP.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":262,"journal":{"name":"Carbon","volume":"252 ","pages":"Article 121334"},"PeriodicalIF":11.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146187537","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CarbonPub Date : 2026-03-25Epub Date: 2026-02-13DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121371
Shuo Zhang , Ruifeng Niu , Xiaomeng Guo , Zirui Jia , Di Lan , Guanglei Wu
{"title":"Designing multiscale integration of hierarchical gradient heterostructures for enhanced electromagnetic protection performance","authors":"Shuo Zhang , Ruifeng Niu , Xiaomeng Guo , Zirui Jia , Di Lan , Guanglei Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121371","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121371","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The rapid advancement of integrated circuits and microelectronics technologies has exacerbated the complexity of contemporary electromagnetic pollution, necessitating the development of novel electromagnetic wave absorbing materials. The architectural engineering of hierarchical gradient heterostructures has emerged as a pivotal strategy for optimizing electromagnetic attenuation. In this study, fiber composites featuring spatially-tuned gradient hierarchies were strategically constructed by a combination of electrostatic spinning, sequential solvent heat treatment, and thermal treatment. Multi-channel carbon nanofibers (MCNFs) serve as the structural scaffold, while spinel NiCo<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> nanoarrays with distinct morphologies (lamellar, acicular, and tubular) function as the intermediate layer to template the subsequent growth of multiphase MnO<sub>2</sub> shell. The morphological evolution of the NiCo<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> layer dictates the spatial distribution and interfacial density of the MnO<sub>2</sub> nanoarrays, thereby enabling precise modulation of the impedance matching and dielectric relaxation properties. The tubular gradient configuration (MNCF-T2) exhibits superior electromagnetic wave attenuation by leveraging the synergistic coupling of intensified Maxwell-Wagner interfacial polarization, multi-component dipole relaxation, and enhanced internal reflections within the hollow-fiber hierarchy. Consequently, the material achieves an optimal reflection loss of −65.9 dB and an effective absorption bandwidth of 7.84 GHz. This work elucidates the fundamental correlations between geometry-dependent interface evolution and electromagnetic dissipation, providing a robust paradigm for the rational design of high-performance protective materials.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":262,"journal":{"name":"Carbon","volume":"252 ","pages":"Article 121371"},"PeriodicalIF":11.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146187538","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Engineering MXene-based electrocatalysts for efficient water splitting: Mechanistic insights, structural modulation, and future perspectives","authors":"Dipika Priyadarsini Jena , Debabrata Bhanja , Lopamudra Giri , Bikash Kumar Jena , Bishnupad Mohanty","doi":"10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121339","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121339","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With the ever-growing demand for clean, sustainable energy, there is an increasing focus on developing efficient electrocatalysts for producing green hydrogen. Two-dimensional (2D) MXenes have recently emerged as promising materials due to their remarkable physicochemical properties and structural diversity. This review provides an in-depth analysis of the latest research on MXenes for the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). It starts by describing the fundamental principles behind both HER and OER, and reviewing the electrocatalytic properties and limitations of pure MXenes. However, to overcome such issues and activate their properties, various modifications, including changes in metal composition, regulation of surface termination, heterostructures, heteroatom doping, and defect engineering, are covered in detail. Additionally, the relationship between the modulated structure and catalytic activity is critically examined using empirical data and theoretical concepts. In addition, this review discusses the overall long-term sustainability, scalability, and compatibility of MXene-based electrocatalysts with water electrolysis systems. The conclusion provides information on current challenges and the future outlook for their rational designs to further improve eco-friendly hydrogen production. The goal is to move forward with technologies for producing hydrogen in an environmentally friendly way.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":262,"journal":{"name":"Carbon","volume":"252 ","pages":"Article 121339"},"PeriodicalIF":11.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146187641","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CarbonPub Date : 2026-03-25Epub Date: 2026-02-11DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121359
Hossein Chamkouri
{"title":"Carbon-based nanoscale wave emitters for controlled energy transfer and signal manipulation","authors":"Hossein Chamkouri","doi":"10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121359","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121359","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Carbon-based nanoscale wave emitters represent an emerging platform for precise energy transfer, signal manipulation, and emission control at the quantum–classical interface. This review examines a carbon nano emitter–manipulator system in which collective electronic, photonic, and plasmonic excitations enable tunable wave generation and directional transfer across confined dimensions. By integrating atomically engineered carbon architectures with external field modulation, the framework achieves dynamic control over emission frequency, phase coherence, and propagation pathways. The model unifies wave emission and transfer through a coupled Hamiltonian description, linking carrier mobility, structural confinement, and dissipative environments. Scaling analysis reveals size-dependent temporal dynamics, suggesting that effective time constants emerge from motion across hierarchical length scales. Such behavior provides a route to adaptive nano emitters capable of manipulating information flow, energy localization, and transduction efficiency. The discussed concepts are relevant to nano-optoelectronics, quantum communication, and carbon-based metamaterials, offering a transferable theoretical foundation for designing multifunctional wave-emitting systems with high stability, controllability, and integration potential. Future studies will experimentally validate scalability, robustness, and device performance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":262,"journal":{"name":"Carbon","volume":"252 ","pages":"Article 121359"},"PeriodicalIF":11.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146187539","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Monitoring the hydrothermal carbonization of biomass derived compounds by in-situ high-temperature-high-pressure Raman spectroscopy","authors":"Alejandra Palomino , Aneta Slodczyk , Aurélien Canizarès , Rémi Champallier , Stéphane Bostyn , Encarnacion Raymundo-Piñero","doi":"10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121360","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121360","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is an energy efficient and sustainable method for converting biomass into carbon-based materials at low temperatures. However, the specific reaction conditions, involving the heating of feedstock in a confined environment under autogenous pressure, pose significant challenges for <em>in-situ</em> analytical techniques. To date, kinetic studies of HTC have primarily relied on <em>ex-situ</em> chemical analysis of samples collected during or after HTC runs. This study presents a novel approach utilizing continuous and rapid <em>in-situ</em> Raman spectroscopy to investigate the reaction progress in aqueous media, shedding light on the reaction pathways and kinetics of hydrothermal reactions. A custom-designed heated pressure vessel equipped with sapphire windows enabled the <em>in-situ</em> Raman monitoring of hydrothermal carbonization of biomass derivatives, such as glucose and xylose, under various experimental conditions including different heating rates and pressures. The results were compared with Raman data obtained <em>ex-situ</em> from a classical batch reactor at different reaction times. The <em>in-situ</em> measurements provided valuable insights into the composition of intermediates and products in both the liquid and solid phases simultaneously, yielding information that cannot be obtained through <em>ex-situ</em> analysis, such as the temperature of sugar decomposition and carbon precipitation depending on the nature of the sugar, the heating rate or the pressure.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":262,"journal":{"name":"Carbon","volume":"251 ","pages":"Article 121360"},"PeriodicalIF":11.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146171403","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CarbonPub Date : 2026-03-05Epub Date: 2026-02-07DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121354
Yaqi Chen , Cuijuan Zhang , Chun Li , Tengyu Gao , Yeming Li , Yan Jiang , Junqiang Niu , Ming Zhang , Shanshan Yao
{"title":"Enhanced Polysulfide Immobilization and Conversion Enabled by N/O/P Co-Doped Hollow Carbon Nanofibers Hosts in Room-Temperature Na-S Batteries","authors":"Yaqi Chen , Cuijuan Zhang , Chun Li , Tengyu Gao , Yeming Li , Yan Jiang , Junqiang Niu , Ming Zhang , Shanshan Yao","doi":"10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121354","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121354","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The significant interest in room-temperature sodium-sulfur (RT Na-S) batteries stems from their noteworthy theoretical energy storage capability, together with the low cost and wide availability of the active materials (sodium and sulfur), positioning them as an attractive next-generation solution. Nevertheless, practical implementation is hindered by rapid capacity fading, which is hampered primarily by sulfur's inherent limitations, such as its poor electrical conductivity, volume expansion of sulfur, the dissolution of intermediate polysulfide species and slow Na-S redox kinetics. In this work, we present a sulfur cathode encapsulated within nitrogen/oxygen/phosphorous co-doped hollow carbon nanofibers (NOP-HCFs) to effectively trap polysulfides, achieving experimentally high specific capacity and outstanding electrochemcial cycling performance. The NOP-HCFs were fabricated via coaxial electrospinning of poly(methyl methacrylate)/polyacrylonitrile (PMMA-core/PAN-shell) design fibers, using triphenylphosphine (TPP) as the phosphorous source, followed by a one-step thermal carbonization process. The three-dimensional nonwoven structure of NOP-HCFs facilitates rapid electron and ion transport, while co-doping with heteroatoms (N/O/P) promotes the polysulfide conversion reactions by providing effective chemisorption sites and catalytic activity. Consequently, RT Na-S batteries employing NOP-HCFs/S cathode attained a specific capacity of 1077.5 mAh g<sup>−1</sup> at 0.2 C and demonstrated remarkable stability, sustaining 924.2 mAh g<sup>−1</sup> over 300 cycles. Furthermore, it demonstrated excellent performance at high rates (695.1 mAh g<sup>−1</sup> at 2 C). Our results provide fundamental insights into the fabricating heteroatoms-codoped hollow naofiber network for outstanding-performance, self-supporting electrode membranes and a competent approach to mitigating the polysulfides shuttle phenomenon in RT Na-S batteries.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":262,"journal":{"name":"Carbon","volume":"251 ","pages":"Article 121354"},"PeriodicalIF":11.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146171397","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}