FORCARBON

III. 2 Carbon composite materials with special morphologies for catalytic and electrochemical applications

Depending on conformation, structure and phase, carbon materials can absorb microwave energy with frequencies 2,45 GHz and 915 MHz respectively.
This property is used for the activation of carbon materials and for the activation of reactions in which nano-scale metal particles, oxides and nonoxides are intercaleted in porous carbon substrates.
The intention is to generate another - catalytic or ion-conducting - function additional to the electrical, thermal or mechanical functions provided by the properties of the carbon composite substrates - a multifunctional material.
The new functionality can be located either in open pores or in a dense coating of the carbon material.
The catalytic or ion-conducting properties are to be implemented already at the stage of semi-finished prducts, like porous or dense powders, loose short-fibers and long-fiber mats.
Components are produced from the semi-finished products by film-coating, screen printing, warm and cold pressing and laminating.
Two components are of major interest in the development work: a hydrogen diffusion anode for electrodialysis of NaCl and an electrode for the Li-ion battery. In both applications, the use of microwave energy for process integrated material development is basis for developing a cheap and uscaleable manufacturing and processing technology which is not yet used by the competitors of the industial partners.