Processing and characterization of monolithic carbon structures based on wood fiberboards

The structure and properties of monolithic carbonized medium-density fiberboards were studied to expand the capabilities of carbonized wood processing. Medium-density fiberboard (MDF) has a more uniform structure than wood, which was investigated in earlier studies for monolithic carbon structures. The uniform structure of medium density fiberboard (MDF) allowed for a reduction in thermal processing time from 4.5 days for wood carbonization to 1 day for MDF carbonization. Key physical properties of carbonized MDF (c-MDF) were determined for potential applications, such as battery electrodes, fuel cell separators and activated carbon filters.; X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to characterize the growth of large turbostratic crystallites and large graphene sheets during the carbonization process. A novel x-ray diffraction method using monolithic pieces of c-MDF was used to correlate the dimensional changes occurring during the carbonization process with the growth of large turbostratic crystallites. The insights gained from the XRD investigation of c-MDF were used to develop a quasipercolation model, which describes the microstructural evolution of hard carbons. This quasipercolation model explained the observed changes in bulk density, dimension, helium density and electrical conductivity of c-MDF. The model also explained how nanopores form in activated carbon materials.; The mechanical and electrical properties of carbonized MDF were measured using ASTM 4-point bending and 4-point electrical conductivity techniques. The elastic modulus was shown to vary from 1.5 to 4.5 GPa for the carbonization temperature range of 600°C to 1000°C. The electrical resistivity varied by seven orders of magnitude from 600°C to 1400°C. An open foam model was used to approximate the mechanical and electrical properties of the hard carbon material in the porous c-MDF.; Large structural activated carbons were made by physical activation of c-MDF in carbon dioxide. A low activation temperature was used to uniformly activate the porous c-MDF structure. Activated carbonized MDF achieved a BET surface area of approximately 1000 m2/g. Mechanical properties of activated c-MDF showed that these materials can be activated without significantly reducing their mechanical integrity.