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Asymmetric flask-like hollow carbonaceous nanoparticles induced by the synergistic interaction between soft template and biomass

By Chen, Chunhong; Wang, Haiyan; Han, Chuanlong; Deng, Jiang; Wang, Jing; Li, Mingming; Tang, Minghui; Jin, Haiyan; Wang, Yong
Published in Journal of the American Chemical Society

Abstract

The soft template method is broadly applied to the fabrication of hollow-structured nanomaterials. However, due to the instability and the typical spherical shape of these soft templates, the resultant particles have a spherical morphology with a wide size distribution. Herein, we developed a sustainable route to fabricate asymmetric flask-like hollow carbonaceous structures with a highly uniform morphology and a narrow size distribution using the soft template method. A dynamic growth mechanism induced by the synergetic interactions between template and biomass is proposed. The precursors (ribose) provide an acidic environment for sodium oleate during the hydrothermal process in which oleic acid nanoemulsions are initially formed and serve as both template and benign solvent for the amphiphilic derivatives of the precursor. Simultaneously, the co-surfactant P123 facilitates the uniform dispersion of the nanoemulsion and is believed to cause the carbonaceous shells to rupture, providing openings through which the intermediates can enter. These subtle interactions facilitate the formation of the flask-like, asymmetric, hollow, carbonaceous nanoparticles. Furthermore, this unique structure contributes to the high surface area (2335 m2 g-1) of the flask-like carbon particles, which enhance the performance of supercapacitors. These findings may open up an exciting field for exploring anisotropic carbonaceous nanomaterials and for understanding the related mechanisms to provide guidance for the design of increasingly complex carbonaceous materials.

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