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    Diego Cazorla-amorós

    • Full Professor in Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Alicante (Department of Inorganic Chemistry and Materials ... more
      (Full Professor in Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Alicante (Department of Inorganic Chemistry and Materials Institute). I develop my research in the following areas: i) preparation andcharacterization of carbon materials (activated carbons, carbon fibres, nanostructured carbons,…), zeolites and composites, ii) heterogeneous catalysis and electrocatalysis)
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    The template carbonization technique enables the production of porous carbons and carbon-based composites with precisely designed, controlled pore structures. The resulting templated carbons are therefore useful to investigate and... more
    The template carbonization technique enables the production of porous carbons and carbon-based composites with precisely designed, controlled pore structures. The resulting templated carbons are therefore useful to investigate and understand the relation between carbon nanostructure and electrocapacitive properties. In this short review paper, we introduce our works on electrochemical capacitance using zeolite-templated carbons and carbon-coated anodic aluminum oxide.La técnica de nanomoldeo mediante carbonización de plantillas sólidas infiltradas permite la preparación y el diseño de materiales carbonosos porosos, tanto puros como compuestos, donde las estructuras porosas son fácilmente definibles y controlables. Los carbones nanomoldeados resultantes son muy útiles como materiales modelo para estudiar las relaciones entre la nanostructura del carbón y sus propiedades electrocapacitivas. En este trabajo, realizamos una breve revisión de nuestros estudios sobre la capacidad electroq...
    Biographene was successfully produced in water from graphite flakes by a simple, rapid, and efficient methodology based on a bioexfoliation technology. The methodology consisted in the application of a lipase, with a unique mechanism of... more
    Biographene was successfully produced in water from graphite flakes by a simple, rapid, and efficient methodology based on a bioexfoliation technology. The methodology consisted in the application of a lipase, with a unique mechanism of interaction with hydrophobic surfaces, combined with a previous mechanical sonication, to selectively generate lipase-graphene sheets conjugates in water at room temperature. The adsorption of the lipase on the graphene sheets permits to keep the sheets separated in comparison with other methods. It was possible to obtain more than 80% of graphene (in the form of multi-layer graphene) from low-cost graphite and with less damage compared to commercial graphene oxide (GO) or reduced GO. Experimental analysis demonstrated the formation of multi-layer graphene (MLG) mainly using lipase from Thermomyces Lanuginosus (TLL).
    Temperature programmed desorption/reduction techniques have been applied to an investigation of the interaction of hydrogen with oxygen surface complexes and reactive sites on the surface of a resin char during thermal desorption. It is... more
    Temperature programmed desorption/reduction techniques have been applied to an investigation of the interaction of hydrogen with oxygen surface complexes and reactive sites on the surface of a resin char during thermal desorption. It is shown that the presence of hydrogen has a number of significant effects on the evolution patterns of the oxides of carbon and water vapor. A number
    N-doped carbon materials have been considered as one of the most promising options for the replacement of platinum-based electrocatalysts towards the oxygen reduction reaction. However, what is known about this kind of catalysts and the... more
    N-doped carbon materials have been considered as one of the most promising options for the replacement of platinum-based electrocatalysts towards the oxygen reduction reaction. However, what is known about this kind of catalysts and the identification of the active sites is still contradictory. Most of the scientific literature focuses on experimental characterization before ORR testing, leading to a consistent lack of knowledge about the surface chemistry at operando conditions. The development of operando techniques is, up to now, not enough to unravel with accuracy the reasons why these catalysts are as active as platinum-based electrodes and to understand the deactivation with time of use. In this work, the changes occurring in the active sites of N-doped carbon catalysts have been analysed in detail through pre- and post-ORR extended characterization of selectively N-doped carbon materials, along with sophisticated computational modelling.
    En esta Tesis se ha profundizado en el estudio del Calcio como catalizador en los procesos de gasificacion del carbon, desde un punto de vista fundamental. Se ha analizado su comportamiento desde la misma etapa de preparacion hasta su... more
    En esta Tesis se ha profundizado en el estudio del Calcio como catalizador en los procesos de gasificacion del carbon, desde un punto de vista fundamental. Se ha analizado su comportamiento desde la misma etapa de preparacion hasta su funcionamiento durante la reaccion. De este modo se han cubierto los siguientes puntos fundamentales: 1) Distribucion del calcio durante la introduccion; efecto de la quimica superficial del carbon en el contacto calcio-carbon. 2) Analisis de la reaccion CO2-CaO en CaO masico con el fin de conocer con profundidad este sistema para su posterior aplicacion en el sistema calcio-carbon. 3) Estudio de la interaccion calcio-carbon con el fin de interpretar la actividad catalitica y conocer el mecanismo de reaccion y fase activa. 4) Comportamiento del catalizador en condiciones de reaccion.
    Abstract Physical gas adsorption was used to study the porous texture of two silicas prepared in this work. These two silicas are the ordered mesoporous material named MCM-41, and a precipitated silica that was prepared under identical... more
    Abstract Physical gas adsorption was used to study the porous texture of two silicas prepared in this work. These two silicas are the ordered mesoporous material named MCM-41, and a precipitated silica that was prepared under identical conditions but without the use of a templating agent as in the case of MCM-41. Physical gas adsorption of N 2 at 77 K (covering the relative pressure range of 10 6 to 1) and CO 2 at 273 K (subatmospheric and high pressures, covering the relative fugacity range of 10 5-0.7) were carried out on the ...
    Activated carbon fibers (ACFs) are porous carbons with a fiber shape and a well-defined porous structure that can be prepared with a high adsorption capacity. Although the ACFs are very promising materials, they have not still a market as... more
    Activated carbon fibers (ACFs) are porous carbons with a fiber shape and a well-defined porous structure that can be prepared with a high adsorption capacity. Although the ACFs are very promising materials, they have not still a market as important as the activated carbons (ACs) due to their difference in production costs. The main characteristics and advantages of the ACFs are as follows 1. ; 2.  ; 3. .
    ... situ". ITPD Surface heterogeneity has been confirmed by an intermittent temperature-programmed desorption method (ITPD) with the same apparatus (and reactor) as that used for experiments reported above (ref. 3). The ITPD ...
    SO2 removal from flue gases by carbonaceous materials is determined by their behaviour as catalysts for SO2 oxidation into SO3 or H2SO4 in the presence of O2 or O2 and steam, respectively. Previous studies have demonstrated that nitrogen... more
    SO2 removal from flue gases by carbonaceous materials is determined by their behaviour as catalysts for SO2 oxidation into SO3 or H2SO4 in the presence of O2 or O2 and steam, respectively. Previous studies have demonstrated that nitrogen (N) functional groups are active sites for the adsorption and oxidation of SO2, although the nature of the N groups with the
    In this study a heat-treatment process using an activated carbon and coal-tar pitch was developed to prepare carbon molecular sieves (CMSs) for CH4/CO2 separation. This process results in a partial blockage of the pores of the activated... more
    In this study a heat-treatment process using an activated carbon and coal-tar pitch was developed to prepare carbon molecular sieves (CMSs) for CH4/CO2 separation. This process results in a partial blockage of the pores of the activated carbon precursor, so that a reduction in the pore size takes place. Equilibrium CO2 adsorption measurements at different temperatures, and CO2 and CH4
    Información del artículo Síntesis de membranas de zeolita del tipo MFI soportadas sobre carbón.
    En la red docente "Seguimiento del grado en Quimica: curso 2015-16", formada por los coordinadores de las comisiones de semestre del grado en Quimica de la Facultad de Ciencias y la coordinadora del grado en Quimica, se ha... more
    En la red docente "Seguimiento del grado en Quimica: curso 2015-16", formada por los coordinadores de las comisiones de semestre del grado en Quimica de la Facultad de Ciencias y la coordinadora del grado en Quimica, se ha analizado la informacion extraida de las reuniones periodicas (al menos dos por semestre) de las ocho comisiones de semestre (correspondientes a los cuatro cursos del grado en Quimica). El objetivo es conseguir una coherencia tanto en la distribucion de contenidos, como en las metodologias docentes y de evaluacion de las materias que componen el plan de estudios del Grado en Quimica de la Universidad de Alicante. Los resultados de este trabajo estan permitiendo identificar posibles problemas y plantear propuestas de mejora en los sistemas de evaluacion asi como en la organizacion docente de la titulacion. Palabras clave: Quimica, coordinacion, metodologia docente, evaluacion.
    En la red docente "Seguimiento del grado en Quimica", formada por los coordinadores de las comisiones de semestre de la Facultad de Ciencias y la coordinadora del grado en Quimica, se ha analizado la informacion extraida de las... more
    En la red docente "Seguimiento del grado en Quimica", formada por los coordinadores de las comisiones de semestre de la Facultad de Ciencias y la coordinadora del grado en Quimica, se ha analizado la informacion extraida de las reuniones periodicas (al menos dos por semestre) de las ocho comisiones de semestre (correspondientes a los cuatro cursos del grado en Quimica). El objetivo es conseguir una coherencia tanto en la distribucion de contenidos, como en las metodologias docentes y de evaluacion de las materias que componen el plan de estudios del Grado en Quimica de la Universidad de Alicante. Los resultados de este trabajo estan permitiendo identificar problemas y plantear propuestas de mejora en la organizacion docente de la titulacion. El trabajo realizado por la red se esta utilizando para elaborar el autoinforme para la reacreditacion del grado en Quimica.
    El Master en Ciencia de Materiales se imparte en la Facultad de Ciencias de la Universidad de Alicante, consta de 60 creditos ECTS que se cursan durante un ano academico. El master esta implantado desde el curso 2010-2011 por lo que... more
    El Master en Ciencia de Materiales se imparte en la Facultad de Ciencias de la Universidad de Alicante, consta de 60 creditos ECTS que se cursan durante un ano academico. El master esta implantado desde el curso 2010-2011 por lo que durante el actual curso 2016-2017 se va a completar la septima promocion de egresados. La red docente esta formada por la comision academica del Master en Ciencia de Materiales. Esta comision (profesorado y personal de administracion y servicios) lleva realizando un seguimiento de la titulacion durante los 6 cursos anteriores. Por tanto la red tiene como objetivo principal el seguimiento, coordinacion, evaluacion y mejora de la planificacion realizada con las experiencias recogidas a lo largo de estos anos. Durante este curso el master ha realizado una mejora de la planificacion del master con la elaboracion de un horario mas racional, de acuerdo con las exigencias de los alumnos, ademas ha realizado un estudio del numero de alumnos por asignaturas a lo ...
    Porous carbons have been extensively studied as double layer capacitors due to their large surface area, chemical stability, easy processability and long cycle life. However, they have low conductivity and the energy storage occurs mainly... more
    Porous carbons have been extensively studied as double layer capacitors due to their large surface area, chemical stability, easy processability and long cycle life. However, they have low conductivity and the energy storage occurs mainly through double layer mechanism. The addition of a conducting polymer thin film can improve the performance of the porous carbon and open the possibilities for preparing advanced carbon materials. This review focuses in the methods for the synthesis of conducting polymer/carbon composites, for their application in electrical energy storage and the synthesis of advanced carbon materials.
    1. Introducción Debido a su elevada superficie específica y una combinación única de conductividad, estabilidad y gran versatilidad química-estructural, los carbones activados (CAs) se emplean como electrodos en diversas aplicaciones... more
    1. Introducción Debido a su elevada superficie específica y una combinación única de conductividad, estabilidad y gran versatilidad química-estructural, los carbones activados (CAs) se emplean como electrodos en diversas aplicaciones electroquímicas. En estas aplicaciones, los heteroátomos presentes en su superficie, tales como oxígeno y nitrógeno, juegan un papel muy importante [1]. La presencia de grupos superficiales estables de fósforo ha sido menos estudiada, pero parece inducir efectos positivos en las propiedades electroquímicas de los materiales carbonosos, aumentando su conductividad, capacidad y/o actividad electrocatalítica en diversas reacciones [2]. Además, se ha propuesto que dichos grupos aumentan la resistencia a la oxidación electroquímica del material en medio acuoso, lo que supone una prometedora aproximación para aumentar la densidad de energía de los supercondensadores en este medio [3]. No obstante, a pesar de todas estas ventajas, no existen estudios que justi...
    Los materiales carbonosos nanoestructurados presentan excelentes propiedades eléctricas, texturales y estructurales, que pueden ser aprovechadas para la fabricación de microcondensadores de elevada potencia y energía, fundamentales en el... more
    Los materiales carbonosos nanoestructurados presentan excelentes propiedades eléctricas, texturales y estructurales, que pueden ser aprovechadas para la fabricación de microcondensadores de elevada potencia y energía, fundamentales en el desarrollo de dispositivos electrónicos portátiles. Sin embargo, el reducido tamaño de sus partículas dificulta su procesado en láminas delgadas, impidiendo un control adecuado de la forma y el espesor de capas finas de estos materiales. Los procedimientos basados en la preparación directa de materiales carbonosos sobre el colector de corriente condicionan la composición y estructura del electrodo, lo que provoca un aumento de los costes de producción. Por ello, es necesario el desarrollo de nuevos procedimientos de fabricación de capas finas que permitan la completa implementación de estos dispositivos.
    The adsorption and electroadsorption of bromide from natural water has been studied in a filter-press electrochemical cell using a commercial granular activated carbon as the adsorbent. During electroadsorption experiments, different... more
    The adsorption and electroadsorption of bromide from natural water has been studied in a filter-press electrochemical cell using a commercial granular activated carbon as the adsorbent. During electroadsorption experiments, different voltages were applied (2 V, 3 V and 4 V) under anodic conditions. The presence of the electric field improves the adsorption capacity of the activated carbon. The decrease in bromide concentration observed at high potentials (3 V or 4 V) may be due to the electrochemical transformation of bromide to Br2. The anodic treatment produces a higher decrease in the concentration of bromide in the case of cathodic electroadsorption. Moreover, in this anodic electroadsorption, if the system is again put under open circuit conditions, no desorption of the bromide is produced. In the case of anodic treatment in the following adsorption process after 24 h of treatment at 3 V, a new decrease in the bromide concentration is observed as a consequence of the decrease i...
    Development of effective direct electron transfer is considered an interesting platform to obtain high performance bioelectrodes. Therefore, designing of scalable and cost-effective immobilization routes that promotes correct direct... more
    Development of effective direct electron transfer is considered an interesting platform to obtain high performance bioelectrodes. Therefore, designing of scalable and cost-effective immobilization routes that promotes correct direct electrical contacting between the electrode material and the redox enzyme is still required. As we present here, electrochemical entrapment of pyrroloquinoline quinone-dependent glucose dehydrogenase (PQQ-GDH) on single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT)-modified electrodes was carried out in a single step during electrooxidation of para-aminophenyl phosphonic acid (4-APPA) to obtain active bioelectrodes. The adequate interaction between SWCNTs and the enzyme can be achieved by making use of phosphorus groups introduced during the electrochemical co-deposition of films, improving the electrocatalytic activity towards glucose oxidation. Two different procedures were investigated for electrode fabrication, namely the entrapment of reconstituted holoenzyme (PQQ-GDH) and the entrapment of apoenzyme (apo-GDH) followed by subsequent in situ reconstitution with the redox cofactor PQQ. In both cases, PQQ-GDH preserves its electrocatalytic activity towards glucose oxidation. Moreover, in comparison with a conventional drop-casting method, an important enhancement in sensitivity was obtained for glucose oxidation (981.7 ± 3.5 nA mM-1) using substantially lower amounts of enzyme and cofactor (PQQ). The single step electrochemical entrapment in presence of 4-APPA provides a simple method for the fabrication of enzymatic bioelectrodes.
    One of the most challenging targets in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts based on N-doped carbon materials is the control of the pore structure and obtaining nanostructured thin films that can easily be incorporated on the... more
    One of the most challenging targets in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts based on N-doped carbon materials is the control of the pore structure and obtaining nanostructured thin films that can easily be incorporated on the current collector. The carbonization of nitrogen-containing polymers and the heat treatment of a mixture of carbon materials and nitrogen precursor are the most common methods for obtaining N-doped carbon materials. However, in this synthetic protocols, the surface area and pore distribution are not controlled. This work enables the preparation of 2D-ordered N-doped carbon materials through the carbonization of 2D polyaniline. For that purpose, aniline has been electropolymerized within the porous structure of two different templates (ordered mesoporous Silica and ordered mesoporous Titania thin films). Thus, aniline has been impregnated into the porous structure and subsequently electropolymerized by means of chronoamperometry at constant potential...
    High-quality performance of catalysts is increasingly required to meet industry exigencies. However, chemical synthesis is often insufficient to maximize the potential properties of the catalysts. On the other hand, electrochemical... more
    High-quality performance of catalysts is increasingly required to meet industry exigencies. However, chemical synthesis is often insufficient to maximize the potential properties of the catalysts. On the other hand, electrochemical synthesis has arisen as a promising alternative to overcome these limitations and provide precise control in the preparation of catalysts. In this sense, this work involved the well-controlled electrochemical synthesis of a catalyst based on platinum nanoparticle deposition on carbon nanotubes using only electrochemical treatments. Thin films of functionalized carbon nanotubes were cast onto the surface of a glassy carbon electrode using potential pulsed electrodeposition, resulting in a better distribution of the carbon nanotubes on the electrode when comparing with traditional methods. Then, platinum nanoparticles were electrodeposited on the carbon nanotube-modified electrode. To check the performance of the catalyst and the relevance of the electroche...
    Abstract This study explores the potential application of recycled materials extracted from arboreal ABA (ABA); this waste is used as an alternative source of aluminium oxyhydroxide for the synthesis of γ-Al2O3 with high surface... more
    Abstract This study explores the potential application of recycled materials extracted from arboreal ABA (ABA); this waste is used as an alternative source of aluminium oxyhydroxide for the synthesis of γ-Al2O3 with high surface area-based mesoporous materials with interesting applications in environmental remediation. The aluminium present in ABA was extracted by desilication and reflux in acid and subsequently converted to mesoporous γ-Al2O3 via a sol–gel process with Pluronic P-123 as surfactant. The surface of that material was successfully functionalized with racemic glycine (GLY) and N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAC) by liquid impregnation in order to study and compare their applications in capture of Fe3+ cations. All the materials were unambiguously characterized by adsorption-desorption isotherms of N2 at 77 K, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), elemental analysis (EA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), diffuse reflectance infrared fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS), scanning electron microscopy with dispersive energy detector of X-ray (SEM-EDS), transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). This process afforded γ-Al2O3 with high purity and the surface area of the mesoporous materials ranged from 115 m2 g−1 for AlOOH to 230 m2 g−1 for γ-Al2O3. The achieved surface functionalization was of 2 and 3 wt% with glycine and DMAC, respectively. The effective performance of these materials (both pristine and functionalized) in the removal of Fe3+ ions from an aqueous solution was evaluated in batch systems. In particular, the materials presented extraction capacities of about 78.2% for bare γ-Al2O3, 83.2% for Al-GLY and 93.9% for Al-DMAC.
    This work is partially supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant. No. JP17H03123 and Gunma University Element Functional Science Project in Japan.
    Phosphonated polyanilines were synthesized by copolymerization of aniline (ANI) with both 2- and 4-aminophenylphosphonic acids (APPA). The material composition and the final properties of the copolymers can be easily tailored by... more
    Phosphonated polyanilines were synthesized by copolymerization of aniline (ANI) with both 2- and 4-aminophenylphosphonic acids (APPA). The material composition and the final properties of the copolymers can be easily tailored by controlling the monomers ANI/APPA molar feed ratio. An important influence on the reactivity of monomers has been found with the substituent position in the ring, leading to differences in the properties and size of blocks of each monomer in the polymer. As expected, while 2APPA shows more similarities to ANI, 4APPA is much less reactive. Phosphorus loading of ~5 at% was achieved in the poly(aniline-co-2-aminophenylphosphonic acid) (PANI2APPA) with a 50/50 molar feed ratio. All the resulting copolymers were characterized by different techniques. Experimental results and density functional theory (DFT) computational calculations suggest that the presence of phosphonic groups in the polymeric chain gives rise to inter- and intra-chain interactions, as well as ...
    In this study, the phosphonation of a polyaniline (PANI) backbone was achieved in an acid medium by electrochemical methods using aminophenylphosphonic (APPA) monomers. This was done through the electrochemical copolymerization of aniline... more
    In this study, the phosphonation of a polyaniline (PANI) backbone was achieved in an acid medium by electrochemical methods using aminophenylphosphonic (APPA) monomers. This was done through the electrochemical copolymerization of aniline with either 2- or 4-aminophenylphosphonic acid. Stable, electroactive polymers were obtained after the oxidation of the monomers up to 1.35 V (reversible hydrogen electrode, RHE). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results revealed that the position of the phosphonic group in the aromatic ring of the monomer affected the amount of phosphorus incorporated into the copolymer. In addition, the redox transitions of the copolymers were examined by in situ Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and it was concluded that their electroactive structures were analogous to those of PANI. From the APPA monomers it was possible to synthesize, in a controlled manner, polymeric materials with significant amounts of phosphorus in their structure throu...
    Abstract In this study, we assessed the effect of the incorporation of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) on a TiO2 support containing different active metals to obtain Metal/TiO2-MWCNT photocatalytic systems. The materials prepared in... more
    Abstract In this study, we assessed the effect of the incorporation of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) on a TiO2 support containing different active metals to obtain Metal/TiO2-MWCNT photocatalytic systems. The materials prepared in this work were characterized by ICP-OES, TEM, EDX, XRD, PL, UV–vis, and nitrogen physisorption techniques. Among those investigated metals, Cu was shown to be the most promising for the present application. The assessment of the photocatalytic performance of Cu/TiO2-MWCNT with various Cu contents revealed that the catalytic activity depends on the Cu loading and the photocatalyst with 1 wt.% of Cu displayed the best performance among investigated. The incorporation of MWCNT in the support enhanced the photocatalytic activity towards the production of H2 under visible and UV–vis light irradiation at room temperature.
    Abstract The stability of supercapacitors is the key factor for their use under high temperature, high voltage and long-term durability. To improve the supercapacitor stability, there is a need to understand the degradation mechanism. In... more
    Abstract The stability of supercapacitors is the key factor for their use under high temperature, high voltage and long-term durability. To improve the supercapacitor stability, there is a need to understand the degradation mechanism. In this work, the degradation sites in a carbon electrode at negative potential range are investigated in two common organic electrolytes: 1 M Et4NBF4 dissolved in propylene carbonate and in acetonitrile. To elucidate the common factor over a wide range of carbon materials, we examined eight kinds of carbon materials including activated carbons, carbon blacks, zeolite-template carbon (high surface area and a large amount of carbon edge sites) and graphene mesosponge (high surface area and a little amount of carbon edge sites). Their surface structures are distinguished into two regions: carbon basal planes and edge sites by nitrogen physisorption and high-sensitivity temperature-programmed desorption up to 1800 °C. Unlike the degradation at positive potential range, initial degradation reactions at negative potential range occur mainly on the carbon basal planes rather than the edge sites. This finding is corroborated by the theoretical calculation.
    Nitrogen-containing superporous activated carbons were prepared by chemical polymerization of aniline and nitrogen functionalization by organic routes. The resulting N-doped carbon materials were carbonized at high temperatures (600–800... more
    Nitrogen-containing superporous activated carbons were prepared by chemical polymerization of aniline and nitrogen functionalization by organic routes. The resulting N-doped carbon materials were carbonized at high temperatures (600–800 °C) in inert atmosphere. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) revealed that nitrogen amount ranges from 1 to 4 at.% and the nature of the nitrogen groups depends on the treatment temperature. All samples were assessed as electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline solution (0.1 M KOH) in order to understand the role of well-developed microporosity as well as the different nitrogen functionalities on the electrocatalytic performance in ORR. It was observed that nitrogen groups generated at high temperatures were highly selective towards the water formation. Among the investigated samples, polyaniline-derived activated carbon carbonized at 800 °C displayed the best performance (onset potential of 0.88 V versus RHE and an elec...

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