This book gives an excellent introduction to carbon materials for researchers in this field. Carbon is an interesting and functional element forming many important materials, such as diamond, graphite, amorphous carbon, fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and graphene. In this book, the authors present a comprehensive review of carbon materials, aiming at understanding the advanced materials science and engineering of carbon.
The book comprises 17 chapters and 434 pages. It is divided into three parts. The first part (chapter 1) gives an introduction to carbon materials; the second part (chapters 2–10) is concerned with the formation and preparation of carbon materials; the third part (chapters 11–17) deals with applications of carbon materials. Appropriate references are listed at the end of each chapter.
Chapter 1 gives an overview of carbon materials and an outline of the book. Chapters 2 and 3 review carbon nanotubes and graphene, respectively, with emphasis on their formation and mechanism. Chapters 4–10 go into processes with specific procedures and the resultant carbon materials, including carbonization under pressure (chapter 4), graphitization under high pressure and stress (chapter 5), glass-like carbons with focus on their activation and graphitization (chapter 6), template carbonization to control morphology and pore structure (chapter 7), carbon nanofibers synthesized by electrospinning (chapter 8), carbon foams with new applications (chapter 9), and nanoporous carbon membranes and webs (chapter 10).
Chapters 11–17 cover several applications of carbon materials, such as electrochemical capacitors (chapter 11), lithium-ion rechargeable batteries (chapter 12), photocatalysis (chapter 13), spilled-oil recovery (chapter 14), adsorption of molecules and ions (chapter 15), highly oriented graphite with high thermal conductivity (chapter 16), and isotropic high-density graphite for nuclear applications (chapter 17).
This book provides a concise and comprehensive introduction to carbon materials, from material fabrication to practical applications. It is neither too advanced nor too elementary, so it is useful as a foundation for materials research. The authors have succeeded in providing a comprehensive summary and review of published results.
This book is written in a clear manner and can be well understood. I recommend this book without hesitation to all interested in carbon materials, particularly to those entering the field. It is written at a level appropriate to researchers with a chemistry, physics, or materials background. Also, it is a good book for advanced undergraduate and graduate students.
Reviewer: Jianguo Luis an Associate Professor at Zhejiang University, China.
