Effect of Structural Defects on Electrical Conductivity of Graphitic Biocarbon.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Chemistry

Background:

• Advanced biocarbon materials offer potential beyond traditional uses.
• Catalytic graphitization is a promising route for producing well-structured biocarbon.
• Limited data exists on the properties of advanced biocarbon, hindering application development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the nanostructure chemistry of graphitic biocarbon produced via catalytic graphitization.
• To comprehensively analyze the impact of defects on biocarbon properties.
• To explore the potential of biocarbon in advanced applications like electronics and photonics.

Main Methods:

• Utilized iron-calcium bimetallic catalytic graphitization of cellulose at various temperatures.
• Examined nanostructure chemistry and defect concentration.
• Measured electrical conductivity and correlated it with defect types and graphitic content.

Main Results:

• Achieved enhanced electrical conductivity (approx. 10^-2 S m^-1) in graphitic biocarbon.
• Demonstrated that electrical conductivity is dependent on grain boundary and vacancy defects.
• Observed a decrease in carbon vacancy defects from 11.77% to 6.57% with increasing temperature (1200-1800 °C).
• Showed increased graphitic sp2 carbon content with higher temperatures.

Conclusions:

• High-temperature catalytic graphitization yields defective graphitic biocarbon.
• Defects critically influence the semiconductive properties of biocarbon.
• Defective graphitic biocarbon shows potential for advanced applications in photonics and electro-optics.