Carbon Materials From Various Sources for Composite Materials

Abstract

Carbon materials play a significant role in the development of composite materials for broad applications. Generally, carbon materials possess outstanding properties such as mechanical, electrical, thermal, chemical properties which allow them to improve the conventional or bulk materials performance. In accordance to the scientific advancement, numerous methods are available to be manipulated in order to obtain different carbon materials (structure, morphology, functions, etc.) from various sources such as gases, biomass materials, waste materials, chemical materials, and so on. Carbon materials can be utilized as obtained, or most of the cases they are combined with other materials to produce composite materials. This chapter highlighted several methods to obtain carbon materials such as heat treatment, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, hydrothermal treatment, and carbon deposition from electrolysis of molten salts electrolyte; discussion on carbon nanotube-based and graphene-based composite materials for wide broad applications; and reviews on carbon materials from various sources. Carbon-based composite materials can be exploited to suit different demands in diverse fields and applications.