Catalysis and Carbon-Based Materials

Dear Colleagues,

Carbon catalysts and materials, the focus of the present Special Issue, are very important in many fields of science, engineering and technology, which is why papers reporting on “carbon materials” are published in journals in a wide range of specialties. Even when targeting a specific subject (e.g., the synthesis of carbon nanomaterials or activated carbon applications), a large number of scientific papers are published. This is mainly due to the existence of several carbon sources, production methods and widespread applications of carbon materials, as a result of the ability of carbon atoms to bond with each other in various ways to form linear, planar and tetrahedral bonding arrangements, thus producing carbon materials with a large range of properties and applications. In addition, their physicochemical characteristics, such as electrical and thermal conductivity, surface area and porosity, surface chemistry and mechanical properties, may be tuned for specific applications by several methods, such as doping, functionalization and graphitization, among others.

Carbon materials such as activated carbons, carbon blacks and graphitic materials, have been used for decades in adsorption and heterogeneous catalysis, either as catalyst supports or as catalysts themselves. Activated carbons are some of the most known and used materials, due to their high-surface-area which makes them exceptional adsorbents for several applications, such as drinking water, wastewater and gas purification. Their predominant applications include adsorption, filling (in rubber production) or use as refractory materials. However, their application in the catalyst market has gained increasing attention specially of its use as catalyst support. An example can be found in hydrogenation reactions, where those carbon materials are used to support precious metals due to their high thermal stability in reducing atmospheres and their ability to facilitate the preparation of well-dispersed metal particles on surfaces that do not exhibit acid–base properties. The recovery and recycling of metals, particularly of noble metals, is simplified with carbons, as these supports can be burned off. In addition, novel carbon nanomaterials and carbon composites are synthesized day by day or find applications in new scientific fields.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to provide readers with the latest research progress and state-of-the-art technologies developed in the manufacture, properties and applications of carbon materials in catalysis.

We would like to express our wholehearted thanks to all authors who consider participating in this Special Issue. Their willingness to share their knowledge is greatly appreciated. We would also like to extend our gratitude to all assistants who helped to produce this Special Issue.

Dr. Jose Luis Diaz de Tuesta
Prof. Dr. Helder T. Gomes
Guest Editors

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• char
• activated carbon
• carbon materials
• nanostructured carbons
• carbon composites
• carbon catalysts
• carbonaceous supports
• activation methods
• carbonization
• graphitization
• superporous materials
• doped carbons
• functionalized carbons
• carbon surface chemistry
• carbon molecular sieves
• ordered mesoporous carbons
• carbon-coated materials