![]() "These materials can be effectively employed as electrocatalysts for energy-efficient production of hydrogen peroxide disinfectant. Our approaches pioneer the controllable synthesis of nanocarbons using small molecular building blocks," said the study's lead author, Zongge Li. "Until now, it has been challenging to directly grow LDCs with such high nitrogen content at mild temperatures. The precise atomic structure of the LDCs product can be resolved using neutron diffraction technology, allowing the determination of the pair distribution function, as depicted in the graph, which corresponds to the structure of polyaminoimidazole (PAI). The study elucidates that the growth of both 1D and 2D low-dimensional carbon materials (LDCs) follows a specific pathway: (1) dehydration of formamide to HCN molecules, (2) polymerization of HCN into tetramers and subsequent 12-mers (polyamines), (3) decyanation of the 12-mers, and finally (4) intramolecular cyclization. By introducing melamine as a "seed," it has the ability to transform the original 1D growth pattern of formamide into a 2D structure, leading to the formation of thin layers of 2D carbon materials. The team also made an interesting observation regarding the addition of melamine, a compound with three outwardly extending amino groups, during the solvothermal treatment of formamide. "This fascinating finding enables the design of a wide range of electrochemical functionalities for applications in energy storage and catalysis," added Zhang. Notably, even after annealing at temperatures as high as 900 ☌, over 10 atomic percent of N content is retained. "The LDCs derived from formamide exhibit an extremely high N content, exceeding 40 atomic percent, as measured after undergoing solvothermal treatment." "The synthesis method proposed in this study is highly user-friendly, making it suitable for scaling up in both laboratory and industrial settings," explains one of the study's authors, Guoxin Zhang, a professor in controllable synthesis of carbon nanomaterials at Shandong University of Science and Technology. The PAI-based carbon nanostructures grown in a dimensional manner can subsequently undergo carbonization to obtain highly N-doped 1D or 2D carbon structures. This innovative approach leads to the formation of a specific 1D-type polymerized (HCN)x, known as polyaminoimidazole (PAI). Carbon nanotubes can be chemically modified by attaching various functionalities to their surfaces, although harsh chemical treatments can lead to their. In a recent study published in Advanced Powder Materials, a team of Chinese researchers proposed a novel route for constructing 1D/2D carbon nanostructures with tunable aspect ratios and a high nitrogen (N) content, employing a single starting source of small molecule-formamide. Currently, most bottom-up methods for LDCs synthesis demand expensive precursors and tedious synthesis procedures, thereby severely impeding their electrochemical applications.
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