Low-temperature preparation of tailored carbon nanostructures in water

Nano Lett. 2012 May 9;12(5):2573-8. doi: 10.1021/nl300822f. Epub 2012 Apr 10.

Abstract

The development of low-temperature carbonization procedures promises to provide novel nanostructured carbon materials that are of high current interest in materials science and technology. Here, we report a "wet-chemical" carbonization method that utilizes hexayne amphiphiles as metastable carbon precursors. Nearly perfect control of the nanoscopic morphology was achieved by self-assembly of the precursors into colloidal aggregates with tailored diameter in water. Subsequent carbonization furnished carbon nanocapsules with a carbon microstructure resembling graphite-like amorphous carbon materials.