Carbon: A Phantom for Nanocomposite-Driven Applications

Abstract

Clever combinations of elements store energy in chemical form like a battery and then release energy pulses whenever and wherever it is needed. Every chemical element in the periodic table is special, but some elements are more special than others. An essential element of life has to multitask. Carbon, the sixth element, is unwonted in its impact on our lives. Carbon lies at the heart of progression intriguing the emergence of planets, life, and us. And, more than any other entirety, carbon has greased the rapid emergence of new technologies. If we discover to replenish our rhapsodically beautiful carbon-rich world, then we may hope to leave a peerless, high-end legacy for all the generations to come. Fullerenes, graphene, carbon nanotubes, fluorescent carbon quantum dots, activated carbon, and carbon black belong to the carbon family with tremendous optical, physical, mechanical, and thermal properties. Among them, carbon nanocomposites can be synthesized with the amalgamation of different elements. Carbon nitride with covalent network compound are unlinked into beta carbon nitride and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) that are relatively new type of carbon based material retaining high photoresponsiveness, high intrinsic photoabsorption, semiconductive properties, high stability under physiological conditions and good biocompatibility. Use of sunlight as a sustainable source for energy generation, environmental medicament photocatalysts for heavy metal pollutant control, and water splitting by use of polymeric materials with incorporation of carbon can be achieved. An oxocarbon consists of a single carbon and single oxygen which has the ability to polymerize at the atomic level, thus forming very long carbon chains. The smart material can be obtained by homogenizing with carbon nanocomposites synthesized in an inexpensive process like printing and roll to roll which are ideal for flexible energy generation and storage. To overcome the extremely high volume change by alloying reaction with lithium for commercialization, carbonaceous materials are induced to improve the structural stability of the electrodes. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are considered as efficacious and practical technology for electrochemical energy storage. Due to high theoretical capacities, electrochemically active metal oxides materialize as promising candidate for the anodes in LIBs. Carbon coating can productively improve the surface chemistry of active material and electrode conductivity and protect the electrode from interacting with electrolyte, enhancing the shelf life of batteries, etc. The fascinating properties of these materials are observed in the emerging strategies for tailoring carbon-based nanocomposites in catalytic organic transformation properties, energy storage, absorbents, biomedical, textile, sensor, molecular imaging, bioimaging, drug, and gene delivery.