Topochemical Synthesis of 2D Carbon Hybrids through Self-Boosting Catalytic Carbonization of a Metal-Polymer Framework

Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) carbon hybrids have promise in various areas such as energy storage and catalysis. Simple methods for controllable fabrication of 2D graphitic carbon hybrids in a scalable manner remains challenging. Now, a microwave-assisted strategy for mass production of 2D carbon hybrids based on self-boosting catalytic carbonization of a metal-agarose framework is demonstrated. Hybrids including hollow Fe₃ C nanoparticles, Ni/Co nanoparticles, and hollow FeO_x nanoparticles uniformly embedded in 2D graphitic carbon nanosheets (GCNs) are obtained, demonstrating the generality of the approach. Metal-polymer coordination and microwave-enabled fast catalytic decomposition of precursors play vital roles in facilitating the formation of the nanosheet structure. The resulting FeO_x -GCNs hybrid exhibits superior lithium-storage performance (1118 mAh g^-1 at 500 mA g^-1 and 818 mAh g^-1 at 2000 mA g^-1 after 1200 cycles).

Keywords: 2D carbon hybrids; lithium ion batteries; metal-polymer coordination; microwave-assisted synthesis; nanosheets.