Sustainable Hydrothermal and Solvothermal Synthesis of Advanced Carbon Materials in Multidimensional Applications: A Review

Abstract

The adoption of green technology is very important to protect the environment and thus there is a need for improving the existing methods for the fabrication of carbon materials. As such, this work proposes to discuss, interrogate, and propose viable hydrothermal, solvothermal, and other advanced carbon materials synthesis methods. The synthesis approaches for advanced carbon materials to be interrogated will include the synthesis of carbon dots, carbon nanotubes, nitrogen/titania-doped carbons, graphene quantum dots, and their nanocomposites with solid/polymeric/metal oxide supports. This will be performed with a particular focus on microwave-assisted solvothermal and hydrothermal synthesis due to their favourable properties such as rapidity, low cost, and being green/environmentally friendly. These methods are regarded as important for the current and future synthesis and modification of advanced carbon materials for application in energy, gas separation, sensing, and water treatment. Simultaneously, the work will take cognisance of methods reducing the fabrication costs and environmental impact while enhancing the properties as a direct result of the synthesis methods. As a direct result, the expectation is to impart a significant contribution to the scientific body of work regarding the improvement of the said fabrication methods.

New strategies in the preparation of binary g-C3N4/MXene composites for visible-light-driven photocatalytic applications

“…Afterwards, the calcination process takes place on the precursor with a constant heating rate. TGA analysis has shown that the photocatalyst obtained by the solvothermal method has higher thermal stability than g-C3N4 and V 2 C. One of the advantages of the hydro/solvothermal method is the tunable morphology of the surfaces by controlling the reaction conditions [69][70][71][72]. In addition, by adjusting the pH during the solvent thermal technique, the generation of byproducts can be minimized or stopped [73].…”

Advances in Engineered Metal Oxide Thin Films by Low-Cost, Solution-Based Techniques for Green Hydrogen Production

“…Hydrothermal synthesis of functional materials can be conventionally performed in a wide temperature range, from room temperature to very high temperatures [77]. Since the first application of the hydrothermal process for nanomaterial synthesis in the 1990s, significant advances in understanding the physical-chemical features of this synthesis have been made [78]. As will be discussed in this section, the main parameters of the hydrothermal synthesis (i.e., initial pH of the precursor solution, duration, and temperature) define the process kinetics and the properties of the products, which are directly related with pressure in the system [79].…”

Shedding Light on Graphene Quantum Dots: Key Synthetic Strategies, Characterization Tools, and Cutting-Edge Applications

“…For this reason, experimental investigation is privileged at the expense of computational models; researchers are rarely working to improve synthetic strategies, to achieve the design of protocols able to return monodispersed structures and more predictable properties. Besides this, optimization in terms of yields and the necessity to target low-cost and environmentally sustainable protocols are piloting laboratory activities as well [ 31 ].…”