Ferraris, John P.
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10735.1/3630
Professor John Ferraris serves as the head of the Chemistry Department. He is also the head of the Ferraris Research Group and an affliliated faculty member of the Alan G. MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute. In 2001 he was the recipient of the W. T. Doherty Award from the Dallas-Ft. Worth Section of the American Chemical Society.
Dr. Ferraris's expertise is in electroactive polymers. His areas of specialization include:
- Organic solid state chemistry
- Design, synthesis and characterization of electroactive organis molecules and polymers
- Electrochemical capacitors
- Electrochromic Devices
- Low bandgap polymers
- Light-emiting polymers
- Fuel cells
- Membrane-based separations
Learn more about John Ferraris from his Faculty home page, NanoTech Institute Affiliated Faculty page, Ferraris Research Group website and Research Explorer page.
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Recent Submissions
Item Kinetic Stability of Bulk LiNiO₂ and Surface Degradation by Oxygen Evolution in LiNiO₂-Based Cathode Materials(Wiley-VCH Verlag Gmbh, 2018-11-02) Kong, Fantai; Liang, Chaoping; Wang, Luhua; Zheng, Yongping; Perananthan, Sahila; Longo, Roberto C.; Ferraris, John P.; Kim, Moon J.; Cho, Kyeongjae; Kong, Fantai; Liang, Chaoping; Wang, Luhua; Zheng, Yongping; Perananthan, Sahila; Longo, Roberto C.; Ferraris, John P.; Kim, Moon J.; Cho, KyeongjaeCapacity degradation by phase changes and oxygen evolution has been the largest obstacle for the ultimate commercialization of high-capacity LiNiO₂-based cathode materials. The ultimate thermodynamic and kinetic reasons of these limitations are not yet systematically studied, and the fundamental mechanisms are still poorly understood. In this work, both phenomena are studied by density functional theory simulations and validation experiments. It is found that during delithiation of LiNiO₂, decreased oxygen reduction induces a strong thermodynamic driving force for oxygen evolution in bulk. However, oxygen evolution is kinetically prohibited in the bulk phase due to a large oxygen migration kinetic barrier (2.4 eV). In contrast, surface regions provide a larger space for oxygen migration leading to facile oxygen evolution. These theoretical results are validated by experimental studies, and the kinetic stability of bulk LiNiO₂ is clearly confirmed. Based on these findings, a rational design strategy for protective surface coating is proposed.Item Fabrication of Carbon Nanofiber Electrodes Using Poly(acrylonitrile-co-vinylimidazole) and Their Energy Storage Performance(Springer, 2019-02-02) Jung, K. -H; Kim, S. J.; Son, Y. J.; Ferraris, John P.; Ferraris, John P.For electrodes in electrochemical double-layer capacitors, carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were prepared by thermal treatment of precursor polymer nanofibers, fabricated by electrospinning. Poly(acrylonitrile-co-vinylimidazole) (PAV) was employed as a precursor polymer of carbon nanofibers due to the effective cyclization of PAV polymer chains during thermal treatment compared to a typical precursor, polyacrylonitrile (PAN). PAV solutions with different comonomer compositions were prepared and electrospun to produce precursor nanofibers. Surface images obtained from scanning electron microscopy showed that their nanofibrous structure was well preserved after carbonization. It was also confirmed that electrospun PAV nanofibers were successfully converted to carbon nanofibers after the carbonization step by Raman spectroscopy. Carbon nanofiber electrodes derived from PAV showed higher specific capacitances and energy/power densities than those from PAN, which was tested by coin-type cells. It was also shown that PAV with an acrylonitrile/vinylimidazole composition of 83:17 is most promising for the carbon nanofiber precursor exhibiting a specific capacitance of 114 F/g. Their energy and power density are 70.1 Wh/kg at 1 A/g and 9.5 W/kg at 6 A/g, respectively. In addition, pouch cells were assembled to load the higher amount of electrode materials in the cells, and a box-like cyclic voltammetry was obtained with high capacitances. © Korean Carbon Society 2019.Item Fabrication and Characterization of Aging Resistant Carbon Molecular Sieve Membranes for C₃ Separation Using High Molecular Weight Crosslinkable Polyimide, 6FDA-DABA(Elsevier B.V.) Karunaweera, Chamaal; Musselman, Inga H.; Balkus, Kenneth J.; Ferraris, John P.; Karunaweera, C.; Musselman, Inga H.; Balkus, Kenneth J.; Ferraris, John P.Although propylene/propane separation remains a challenge for industrial processes, carbon molecular sieve membranes (CMSMs) have the potential to replace traditional separation methods. A high molecular weight crosslinkable polyimide was utilized to fabricate CMSMs, which showed pure gas permeabilities in excess of 400 barrers with propylene/propane selectivities as high as 25. Mixed gas (C₃H₈:C₃H₆ 50:50) measurements yielded a propylene permeability of 257 barrers and a selectivity of 20. CMSMs from thermally precrosslinked polymer precursors demonstrated a 98% propylene permeability retention after aging for 20 days under vacuum. Active gas flow conditions resulted in slightly lower permeability retention (92.5%) after 15 days of testing. ©2019 Elsevier B.V.Item Novel Binder-Free Electrode Materials for Supercapacitors Utilizing High Surface Area Carbon Nanofibers Derived from Immiscible Polymer Blends of PBI/6FDA-DAM:DABA(Royal Society of Chemistry, 2018-06-01) Abeykoon, Nimali C.; Garcia, Velia; Jayawickramage, Rangana A.; Perera, Wijayantha; Cure, Jeremy; Chabal, Yves J.; Balkus, Kenneth J.; Ferraris, John P.; 0000 0000 4239 3958 (Chabal, YJ); 0000-0002-3225-0093 (Ferraris, JP); Abeykoon, Nimali C.; Garcia, Velia; Jayawickramage, Rangana A.; Perera, Wijayantha; Cure, Jeremy; Chabal, Yves J.; Balkus, Kenneth J.; Ferraris, John P.Carbon nanofibers with high surface area have become promising electrode materials for supercapacitors because of their importance in increasing energy density. In this study, a high free volume polymer, 6FDA-DAM:DABA (6FDD) was blended with polybenzimidazole (PBI) in different ratios to obtain different compositions of PBI/6FDD immiscible polymer blends. Freestanding nanofiber mats were obtained via electrospinning using blend precursors dissolved in N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc). Subsequently, carbonization, followed by CO₂ activation at 1000 °C was applied to convert the fiber mats into porous carbon nanofibers (CNFs). The addition of 6FDD shows significant effects on the microstructure and enhancement of the surface area of the CNFs. The obtained CNFs show specific surface area as high as 3010 m² g⁻¹ with pore sizes comparable to those of the electrolyte ions (PYR₁₄TFSI). This provides good electrolyte accessibility to the pore of the carbon materials resulting in enhanced energy density compared to the CNFs obtained from pure PBI. Electrodes derived from PBI:6FDD (70 : 30) exhibited outstanding supercapacitor performance in coin cells with a specific capacitance of 142 F g⁻¹ at the scan rate of 10 mV s⁻¹ and energy density of 67.5 W h kg⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹ (58 W h kg⁻¹ at 10 A g⁻¹) thus demonstrating promising electrochemical performance for high performance energy storage system.Item High Surface Area Carbon Nanofibers Derived from Electrospun Pim-1 for Energy Storage Applications(2013-11-21) Bonso, Jeliza S.; Kalaw, Grace Jones D.; Ferraris, John P.; Bonso, Jeliza S.; Kalaw, Grace Jones D.; Ferraris, John P.Electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLCs) utilize electrodes with high surface area to achieve high-energy storage capability. In this study, flexible and freestanding carbon nanofibers derived from PIM-1, a microporous polymer with high free volume, were prepared by pyrolysis of the electrospun polymer. A BET surface area of 546 m² g⁻¹ was obtained upon carbonization of the electrospun PIM-1 fibers. After further heat treatments such as steam-activation and annealing, the surface area increased to 1162 m² g⁻¹. These carbon fibers were directly used as electrodes without the use of binders in a coin cell (CR2032) configuration and were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The activated and annealed fibers gave a specific capacitance of 120 F g⁻¹ at a scan rate of 10 mV s⁻¹ using 1,3-ethylmethylimidizaolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide as the ionic liquid electrolyte. From the galvanostatic charge-discharge test, the supercapacitor exhibited energy and power densities of 60 W h kg ⁻¹ (active material) and 1.7 kW kg⁻¹, respectively, at a current density of 1 A g⁻¹. High power application of this device was demonstrated by its 77% retention of the energy density (47 W h kg⁻¹) at a higher discharge current density of 5 A g⁻¹.