Direct synthesis of carbon-based microtubes by hydrothermal carbonization of microorganism cells

• Tubular microbial cells were introduced to hydrothermal carbonization.
• Soft biomass conserved the biological structure in the carbonization process.
• Carbon-based microtubes were obtained and the formation mechanism was proposed.
• The resulted materials exhibited potential as non-metal electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction.

Streptomyces sporoverrucosus dwc-3, a type of microbial biomass was used to prepare carbon-based microtubes (CMTs) due to their natural micro-tubular structure. After low temperature hydrothermal carbonization at 180 °C, CMTs with a diameter of 400–500 nm and a wall thickness of about 50 nm was obtained. It was demonstrated that the intrinsic biologic tissue of the soft biomass could also be well inherited during the formation process of CMTs. Electrochemical evaluations in 0.5 M Na2SO4 + 0.1 M H2SO4 solution at room temperature showed that the prepared CMTs exhibited high electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction. The significant outcomes in this work showed a novel approach to fabricate CMTs that can be used as non-metal electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction by using low temperature hydrothermal carbonization method.

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