Preparation and Characterization of Activated Carbon/Polymer Composites: A Review

Abstract

Activated carbon (AC) and activated carbon fibers (ACFs) are materials with a large specific surface area and excellent physical adsorption properties due to their rich porous structure, and they are used as electrode materials to improve the performance of adsorbents or capacitors. Recently, multiple studies have confirmed the applicability of AC/polymer compo-sites in various fields by exploiting the unique physical and chemical properties of AC. As the excellent mechanical properties, stability, antistatic and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding functions of activated carbon/polymer composite materials were confirmed in recent studies, it is expected that activated carbon can be utilized as an ideal reinforcing material for low-cost polymer composite materials. Therefore, in this review, we would like to describe the fabrication, characterization and applicability of AC/polymer composites.