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Synthesis, characterization and density functional theory of copper (ii) complex and cobalt (ii) coordination polymer for detection of nitroaromatic explosives (2020)
Journal Article
Tellaa, A. C., Olayemiab, V. T., Adekolaa, F. A., Oladipoac, A. C., Adimulaa, V. O., Ogare, J. O., …Mokaya, R. (2021). Synthesis, characterization and density functional theory of copper (ii) complex and cobalt (ii) coordination polymer for detection of nitroaromatic explosives. Inorganica Chimica Acta, 515, Article 120048. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ica.2020.120048

In recent years there has been a significant interest to design luminescent materials to detect explosives with a great degree of selectivity, sensitivity, and fast response time. Two new luminescent compounds, [Cu(Biphen)(Meim)(H2O)] 1 and [Co(BDC)(... Read More about Synthesis, characterization and density functional theory of copper (ii) complex and cobalt (ii) coordination polymer for detection of nitroaromatic explosives.

Predictable and targeted activation of biomass to carbons with high surface area density and enhanced methane storage capacity (2020)
Journal Article
Altwala, A., & Mokaya, R. (2020). Predictable and targeted activation of biomass to carbons with high surface area density and enhanced methane storage capacity. Energy and Environmental Science, 13(9), 2967-2978. https://doi.org/10.1039/d0ee01340d

© The Royal Society of Chemistry. A challenge in the synthesis of activated carbons is that currently there is no way to prepare materials with predictable and targeted properties. In particular, there are no material parameters or characteristics of... Read More about Predictable and targeted activation of biomass to carbons with high surface area density and enhanced methane storage capacity.

Simultaneous quantification of acetaminophen and tryptophan using a composite graphene foam/Zr-MOF film modified electrode (2020)
Journal Article
Kemmegne-Mbouguen, J. C., Tchoumi, F. P., Mouafo-Tchinda, E., Langmi, H. W., Bambalaza, S. E., Musyoka, N. M., …Mokaya, R. (2020). Simultaneous quantification of acetaminophen and tryptophan using a composite graphene foam/Zr-MOF film modified electrode. New Journal of Chemistry, 44(30), 13108-13117. https://doi.org/10.1039/d0nj02374d

© The Royal Society of Chemistry and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. A graphene foam/zirconium-based metal-organic framework composite (GF/UiO-66) was synthesised and then employed to modify glassy carbon electrodes (GCE). These mod... Read More about Simultaneous quantification of acetaminophen and tryptophan using a composite graphene foam/Zr-MOF film modified electrode.

Experimental Demonstration of Dynamic Temperature-Dependent Behavior of UiO-66 Metal–Organic Framework: Compaction of Hydroxylated and Dehydroxylated Forms of UiO-66 for High-Pressure Hydrogen Storage (2020)
Journal Article
Bambalaza, S. E., Langmi, H. W., Mokaya, R., Musyoka, N. M., & Khotseng, L. E. (2020). Experimental Demonstration of Dynamic Temperature-Dependent Behavior of UiO-66 Metal–Organic Framework: Compaction of Hydroxylated and Dehydroxylated Forms of UiO-66 for High-Pressure Hydrogen Storage. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 12(22), 24883-24894. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.0c06080

High-pressure (700 MPa or ∼100 000 psi) compaction of dehydroxylated and hydroxylated UiO-66 for H2 storage applications is reported. The dehydroxylation reaction was found to occur between 150 and 300 °C. The H2 uptake capacity of powdered hydroxyla... Read More about Experimental Demonstration of Dynamic Temperature-Dependent Behavior of UiO-66 Metal–Organic Framework: Compaction of Hydroxylated and Dehydroxylated Forms of UiO-66 for High-Pressure Hydrogen Storage.

Pore Characteristics for Efficient CO2 Storage in Hydrated Carbons (2019)
Journal Article
Ren, M., Sevilla, M., Fuertes, A. B., Mokaya, R., Tour, J. M., & Jalilov, A. S. (2019). Pore Characteristics for Efficient CO2 Storage in Hydrated Carbons. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 11(47), 44390-44398. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.9b17833

Development of new approaches for carbon dioxide (CO2) capture is important in both scientific and technological aspects. One of the emerging methods in CO2 capture research is based on the use of gas-hydrate crystallization in confined porous media.... Read More about Pore Characteristics for Efficient CO2 Storage in Hydrated Carbons.

The effects of metakaolinization and fused-metakaolinization on zeolites from quartz rich natural clays (2019)
Journal Article
Otieno, S. O., Kengara, F. O., Kemmegne-Mbouguen, J. C., Langmi, H. W., Kowenje, C. B., & Mokaya, R. (2019). The effects of metakaolinization and fused-metakaolinization on zeolites from quartz rich natural clays. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 290, Article 109668. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micromeso.2019.109668

A variety of zeolites have been synthesized by performing either metakaolinization or fused-metakaolinization of natural clays prior to the hydrothermal synthesis step. To understand the differences arising from performing fused metakaolinization rat... Read More about The effects of metakaolinization and fused-metakaolinization on zeolites from quartz rich natural clays.

Pre-mixed precursors for modulating the porosity of carbons for enhanced hydrogen storage: towards predicting the activation behaviour of carbonaceous matter (2019)
Journal Article
Balahmar, N., & Mokaya, R. (2019). Pre-mixed precursors for modulating the porosity of carbons for enhanced hydrogen storage: towards predicting the activation behaviour of carbonaceous matter. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2019(29), 17466-17479. https://doi.org/10.1039/c9ta06308k

Highly porous carbons prepared from pre-mixtures of polypyrrole and raw sawdust or sawdust hydrochar achieve much higher surface area than is possible from single use of any one of the precursors. The pre-mixed precursors offer carbons with ultrahigh... Read More about Pre-mixed precursors for modulating the porosity of carbons for enhanced hydrogen storage: towards predicting the activation behaviour of carbonaceous matter.

New perspectives on supercritical methane adsorption in shales and associated thermodynamics (2019)
Journal Article
Tang, X., Ripepi, N., Rigby, S., Mokaya, R., & Gilliland, E. (2019). New perspectives on supercritical methane adsorption in shales and associated thermodynamics. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 78, 186-197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiec.2019.06.015

Understanding methane adsorption behavior in shales is fundamental for optimizing shale gas development as the adsorbed methane is a large portion of the subsurface shale gas resource. However, the adsorption mechanism of supercritical methane in sha... Read More about New perspectives on supercritical methane adsorption in shales and associated thermodynamics.

Compaction of a zirconium metal–organic framework (UiO-66) for high density hydrogen storage applications (2018)
Journal Article
Bambalaza, S. E., Langmi, H. W., Mokaya, R., Musyoka, N. M., Ren, J., & Khotseng, L. E. (2018). Compaction of a zirconium metal–organic framework (UiO-66) for high density hydrogen storage applications. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 6(46), 23569-23577. https://doi.org/10.1039/c8ta09227c

© The Royal Society of Chemistry. We report a rare case whereby a metal-organic framework (MOF), namely UiO-66, is compacted at high pressure (∼700 MPa or 100 000 psi) resulting in densification and improved total volumetric hydrogen storage capacity... Read More about Compaction of a zirconium metal–organic framework (UiO-66) for high density hydrogen storage applications.

Valorization of lignin waste: high electrochemical capacitance of lignin-derived carbons in aqueous and ionic liquid electrolytes (2018)
Journal Article
Sangchoom, W., Walsh, D. A., & Mokaya, R. (2018). Valorization of lignin waste: high electrochemical capacitance of lignin-derived carbons in aqueous and ionic liquid electrolytes. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 6(38), (18701-18711). doi:10.1039/c8ta07632d. ISSN 2050-7488

This report describes the utilization of waste lignin-derived activated carbons (LACs) as high-energy/high-power electrode materials for electric double layer capacitors(EDLCs). The influence of carbon-pore structure on the capacitance of the LACs in... Read More about Valorization of lignin waste: high electrochemical capacitance of lignin-derived carbons in aqueous and ionic liquid electrolytes.

A simple flash carbonization route for conversion of biomass to porous carbons with high CO2 storage capacity (2018)
Journal Article
Hirst, E. A., Taylor, A., & Mokaya, R. (in press). A simple flash carbonization route for conversion of biomass to porous carbons with high CO2 storage capacity. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, https://doi.org/10.1039/C8TA04409K

This work offers a new, and simpler, method for the carbonisation of biomass that involves flash carbonisation of biomass at relatively low temperature (< 400 o C). We successfully converted the biomass precursor (eucalyptus sawdust) to carbonaceous... Read More about A simple flash carbonization route for conversion of biomass to porous carbons with high CO2 storage capacity.

Optimization of the pore structure of biomass-based carbons in relation to their use for CO2 capture at low and high pressure regimes (2017)
Journal Article
Sevilla, M., Al-Jumialy, A. S. M., Fuertes, A. B., & Mokaya, R. (2018). Optimization of the pore structure of biomass-based carbons in relation to their use for CO2 capture at low and high pressure regimes. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 10(2), https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b10433

A versatile chemical activation approach for the fabrication of sustainable porous carbons with a pore network tunable from micro- to hierarchical micro-/mesoporous is hereby presented. It is based on the use of a less corrosive and less toxic chemic... Read More about Optimization of the pore structure of biomass-based carbons in relation to their use for CO2 capture at low and high pressure regimes.

Oxygen-rich microporous carbons with exceptional hydrogen storage capacity (2017)
Journal Article
Blankenship, T. S., Balahmar, N., & Mokaya, R. (in press). Oxygen-rich microporous carbons with exceptional hydrogen storage capacity. Nature Communications, 8, Article 1545. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-01633-x

Porous carbons have been extensively investigated for hydrogen storage but, to date, appear to have an upper limit to their storage capacity. Here, in an effort to circumvent this upper limit, we explore the potential of oxygen-rich activated carbons... Read More about Oxygen-rich microporous carbons with exceptional hydrogen storage capacity.

Cigarette butt-derived carbons have ultra-high surface area and unprecedented hydrogen storage capacity (2017)
Journal Article
Blankenship, T. S., & Mokaya, R. (in press). Cigarette butt-derived carbons have ultra-high surface area and unprecedented hydrogen storage capacity. Energy and Environmental Science, https://doi.org/10.1039/C7EE02616A

Discarded cigarette filters, in the form of cigarette butts, are a major waste disposal and environmental pollution hazard due to mainly containing cellulose acetate which is nonbiodegradable; 5.8 trillion cigarettes are smoked worldwide per annum ge... Read More about Cigarette butt-derived carbons have ultra-high surface area and unprecedented hydrogen storage capacity.

Ultra-high surface area mesoporous carbons for colossal pre combustion CO2 capture and storage as materials for hydrogen purification (2017)
Journal Article
Cox, M., & Mokaya, R. (2017). Ultra-high surface area mesoporous carbons for colossal pre combustion CO2 capture and storage as materials for hydrogen purification. Sustainable Energy and Fuels, https://doi.org/10.1039/C7SE00300E

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) by solid adsorbents is currently attracting a great deal of attention. In this study, a new direction in the treatment of activateable carbon-containing precursors generated a family of mesoporous carbons that possess... Read More about Ultra-high surface area mesoporous carbons for colossal pre combustion CO2 capture and storage as materials for hydrogen purification.

Biomass to porous carbon in one step: directly activated biomass for high performance CO2 storage (2017)
Journal Article
Balahmar, N., Al-Jumialy, A. S., & Mokaya, R. (2017). Biomass to porous carbon in one step: directly activated biomass for high performance CO2 storage. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 5(24), https://doi.org/10.1039/C7TA01722Gk

This report explores the direct conversion of biomass to activated carbons in one step. We demonstrate the successful conversion of a range of biomass sources, namely, sawdust, the flowering plant Paeonia lactiflora and seaweed (Sargassum fusiforme),... Read More about Biomass to porous carbon in one step: directly activated biomass for high performance CO2 storage.

Templating of carbon in zeolites under pressure: synthesis of pelletized zeolite templated carbons with improved porosity and packing density for superior gas (CO2 and H2) uptake properties (2016)
Journal Article
Balahmar, N., Lowbridge, A. M., & Mokaya, R. (2016). Templating of carbon in zeolites under pressure: synthesis of pelletized zeolite templated carbons with improved porosity and packing density for superior gas (CO2 and H2) uptake properties. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 4(37), https://doi.org/10.1039/C6TA06176A

This report explores the use of compacted zeolite pellets as templates for the preparation of pelletized zeolite templated carbons (ZTCs). The effects of zeolite compaction before use as hard templates were investigated through the compression of pow... Read More about Templating of carbon in zeolites under pressure: synthesis of pelletized zeolite templated carbons with improved porosity and packing density for superior gas (CO2 and H2) uptake properties.

Bridging the performance gap between electric double-layer capacitors and batteries with high-energy/high-power carbon nanotube-based electrodes (2016)
Journal Article
Matabosch Coromina, H., Adeniran, B., Mokaya, R., & Walsh, D. A. (2016). Bridging the performance gap between electric double-layer capacitors and batteries with high-energy/high-power carbon nanotube-based electrodes. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 4(38), 14586-14594. https://doi.org/10.1039/c6ta05686e

Electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) store electrical energy at the interface between charged electrodes and electrolytes and are higher-power devices than batteries. However, the amount of energy stored in EDLCs cannot compete with that in batte... Read More about Bridging the performance gap between electric double-layer capacitors and batteries with high-energy/high-power carbon nanotube-based electrodes.

High yield and high packing density porous carbon for unprecedented CO2 capture from the first attempt at activation of air-carbonized biomass (2016)
Journal Article
Haffner-Staton, E., Balahmar, N., & Mokaya, R. (2016). High yield and high packing density porous carbon for unprecedented CO2 capture from the first attempt at activation of air-carbonized biomass. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 4(34), 13324-13335. https://doi.org/10.1039/C6TA06407H

The first attempt at activation of air-carbonized carbon reveals unusual resistance to activation and unprecedentedly high yields (32–80 wt%) of high packing density (0.7–1.14 g cm−3) microporous carbon dominated by 5.5–7 Å pores, which are just righ... Read More about High yield and high packing density porous carbon for unprecedented CO2 capture from the first attempt at activation of air-carbonized biomass.