Facile flame synthesis and electrochemical properties of carbon nanocoils

Carbon nanocoils (CNCs) were in situ synthesized by using tin oxide nanoparticle catalyst from stannic chloride precursor in an ethanol flame. The anisotropic deposition rate of carbon among tin dioxide crystal planes provides the driving force for the coiling of carbon fibers. The obtained CNCs have tight coil pitches and average fiber and coil diameter of approximately 50-80 nm and 80-100 nm, respectively. BET measurement and BJH method reveal that the CNCs possess a mesoporous character. The CNCs present excellent specific capacitance as ca. 40 F/g using as polarized electrodes, which is considerably higher than that of the micro-coiled carbon fibers or carbon nanofibers, maybe the ideal candidate using as supercapacitor.