Self-templated synthesis of novel carbon nanoarchitectures for efficient electrocatalysis

AbstractThe cost-efficient large-scale production of novel carbon nanostructure with high performance is still a challenge, restricting their applications in catalysis. Herein, we present a low-cost one-pot and one-step approach for the synthesis of both N-doped graphene (NG) and N-doped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) from self-templated organic nanoplates. By varying the FeCl3 concentration in the precursor, we can control the formation of graphene or CNTs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example for the controllable synthesis of graphene or CNTs by varying the precursors’ compositions. This provides a simple and cost-effective route for the large-scale production of both NG and …