A review of hierarchical porous carbon derived from various 3D printing techniques.

Hierarchical porous carbon is an area of advanced materials that plays a pivotal role in meeting the increasing demands across various industry sectors including catalysis, adsorption, and energy storage and conversion. Additive manufacturing is a promising technique to synthesize architectured porous carbon with exceptional design flexibility, guided by computer-aided precision. This review paper aims to provide an overview of porous carbon derived from various additive manufacturing techniques, including material extrusion, vat polymerization, and powder bed fusion. The respective advantages and limitations of these techniques will be examined. Some exemplary work on various applications will be showcased. Furthermore, perspectives on future research directions, opportunities, and challenges of additive manufacturing for porous carbon will also be offered.

Effects of Carbon Templates in Tetraethyl Orthosilicate-Derived Superhydrophobic Coatings.

Superhydrophobic coatings have garnered significant research interest due to their potential applications in areas such as ant-icing and windows. This study focuses on the development of superhydrophobic coatings using air-assisted electrospray and the effect of different carbon additives as templates in the coating. Carbon templates, with their unique topological varieties, offer a cost-effective alternative to other patterning technologies such as photolithography. By introducing dispersed carbon black, carbon nanotubes, and graphene additives in TEOS solution, silica is given the ability of localized secondary growth on or around the carbon surfaces as well as the building structure to provide adequate roughness on the substrate surface. The templated silica formations provide a thin coating with nano-scale roughness for heightened water resistance. As compared with the template-free coating that has small silica particles, a surface roughness of 135 nm, and a water contact angle (WCA) of 101.6° (non-superhydrophobic), the carbon templating effect allowed for increased silica particle size, a surface roughness as high as 845 nm, a WCA above 160°, and the ability to maintain superhydrophobicity over 30 abrasion cycles. The morphological characteristics that resulted from the templating effect correlate directly with heightened performance of the coatings. Herein, the carbon additives have been found to serve as cheap and effective templates for silica formation in thin TEOS-derived superhydrophobic coatings.