Review—Carbon Cloth as a Versatile Electrode: Manufacture, Properties, Reaction Environment, and Applications

Abstract

The manufacture, characterization, and application of carbon cloth (CC) are reviewed and its use as an electrode in fundamental electrochemical studies and technological applications over the last fifty-five years is considered. The most widely used precursors to produce commercial CC are polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers manufactured by heat treatment at 1500-3000°C. CC has good electrical conductivity, high mechanical strength, and high chemical resistance, making it a versatile electrode material that can operate over a wide potential range in aqueous electrolytes and molten salts. Chemical and thermal methods can enhance the surface area and help control CC surfaces wettability. Electrodes can be decorated by nanostructured carbons, precious metal nanoparticles, or enzyme immobilization to modify surface functionality, improve activity, and widen applications. The doping of CC with polymers, metals, and metal oxides has enabled its use in sensors, electrosynthesis of chemicals, environmental remediation, and water treatment, as well as energy storage and conversion. Electrochemical cells incorporating CC ranging from three-electrode laboratory bench cells to pilot plant flow cells are illustrated. The characterization of hydrodynamics, mass transport rates, and potential/current distributions in CC-equipped flow cells using experimental and computational fluid dynamics approaches are analyzed. Finally, continuing research challenges to CC are highlighted.

Morphological Properties and Electrochemical Performance for Compressed Carbon-fiber Electrodes in Redox Flow Batteries

“…Such robust features are favorable in industrial flow battery reactor designs. 77 In addition, as the applied compression increases, all three electrodes exhibit a mass transfer-limited current that decreases with increasing CRs. Such high current densities are usually not used in practical applications.…”

Electrochemical Performance of Dual-layer Carbon Electrodes for Aqueous Redox Flow Batteries

“…Due to the presence of the large void and welldefined microstructure, carbon cloth has been shown to be a high-performance electrode with reduced mass transport resistance and pressure drop in a full-cell RFB system [17]. The physical and electrochemical properties of carbon cloth with different woven patterns were compared in both aqueous [18] and non-aqueous [19] RFBs.…”

NiO/ZnO Composite Derived Metal‐Organic Framework as Advanced Electrode Materials for Zinc Hybrid Redox Flow Battery

“…Pristine carbon cloth, graphite felt electrodes are already reported. [12,13] In this work, we have prepared a new electrode for obtaining the high-efficiency zinc-based RFB (TRFB) via conventional solid-state reaction. The cost of the standardized flow cell is critically high in RFB system, which has now been improved by low-cost mini peristaltic pump in a cell.…”

“…reported a carbon nanotube‐based electrode for zinc‐bromine redox flow batteries using pristine CF with modified CNT that shows a good energy efficiency of 67 %, although, the cost is critically high. Pristine carbon cloth, graphite felt electrodes are already reported [12,13] …”