Not only all living things contain carbon, but also carbon is in plenty of things that we consider important in our daily routines. Carbon is the most abundant element present in nature with the capabilities of combining chemically with not only other elements, but also with itself. This capability of carbon makes it the preferred element in the development of variety of structures with diverse properties.
Properties of Carbon
a) Very Solid (Diamond)
b) Very dense and high strength (composite materials)
c) Very porous (activated carbon)
d) Extremely conductive (graphite)
e) Can stand high temperature and other extreme conditions
Practical application
Graphitic carbons play an important role in electrochemical technologies. The two significant applications include:
a) Batteries : At present, Lithium ion batteries are the best energy storage devices (portable) for the consumer electronic market. This present day status of Li-ion battery is achieved because of the miraculous properties of graphite and carbon materials as an anode. The battery performance that includes: cyclic stability, voltage profile and charge/discharge capacity rely strongly on the microstructure of the anode materials i.e. graphite and carbon materials. Because of the carbon’s contribution, the working capacity of the Li-ion battery has improved 1.7 times.
b) Fuel Cells : Carbon has remarkable electrical and structural properties that make it a perfect material for use in the construction of present day Fuel cells. In phosphoric acid and proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), carbon is chiefly used in fabricating the gas-diffusion layer and the bipolar plate. It can additionally work as a support system for the active metals available in the catalyst layer of the fuel cells. The emergence of nanotechnology and the introduction of carbon nanotubes in recent years have consequently opened up new opportunities of material development for the very efficient fuel cells, particularly the direct methanol PEMFC and the hydrogen PEMFC.
In spite of the fact that carbonaceous materials have their share of specialized issues in batteries and fuel cells, a practical alternative to carbon has yet not been recognized, thus making carbon the real ruler of the electrochemical technology world.
