Strongly veined carbon nanoleaves as a highly efficient metal-free electrocatalyst.
Effective integration of one-dimensional carbon nanofibers (CNF) and two-dimensional carbon sheets into three-dimensional (3D) conductive frameworks is essential for their practical applications as electrode materials. Herein, a novel "vein-leaf"-type 3D complex of carbon nanofibers with nitrogen-doped graphene (NG) was prepared through a simple thermal condensation of urea and bacterial cellulose. During the formation of the 3D complex CNF@NG, the graphene species was tethered to CNF via carbon-carbon bonds. Such an interconnected 3D network facilitates both the electron transfer and mass diffusion for electrochemical reactions.
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (P. R. China).
Tian-Nan
TN
Ye
Li-Bing
LB
Lv
Xin-Hao
XH
Li
Miao
M
Xu
Jie-Sheng
JS
Chen
biomass; carbon nanofibers; electrocatalysts; graphene; leaf nanostructures