One-pot synthesis of carbon nanoribbons and their enhanced lithium storage performance

Abstract

Carbon nanoribbons are obtained on a large scale by an easy one-pot pathway. The nanoribbons, which have thicknesses of ∼5 nm, widths of ∼500 nm and lengths exceeding 15 μm, are prepared from ferrocene and Mg(CH₃COO)₂·4H₂O at 600 °C for 10 h. The Raman spectrum of the as-obtained sample indicates that it possesses a mass of disorder and defects. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results show that the nanoribbons are doped by nitrogen at an atomic percentage of 2.09%. The specific surface area of the sample is measured to be as large as 1240 m² g⁻¹. In the charge–discharge experiments of secondary lithium ion batteries, the carbon nanoribbons demonstrate a stable reversible capacity of 750 mA h g⁻¹ after 300 cycles at 0.5 A g⁻¹, suggesting that the as-prepared carbon nanoribbons have potential applications as electrode materials in electronic devices.