N-doped carbon nanowires synthesized from l-arginine for electrochemical application

N-doped carbon nanowires are synthesized by a simple impregnation method under low carbonization temperature. l-Arginine is adopted as carbon sources and nitrogen sources and SBA-15 is employed as hard template. The obtained carbon nanowires possess uniform and ultrafine diameter of around 6.5 nm, in good accord with the pore size of the SBA-15 silica template. The probable mechanism is proposed that l-arginine is elongated to form long chains in the pore of SBA-15 through dehydration–condensation reaction. The as-synthesized carbon nanowires contain heteroatoms such as nitrogen and oxygen, which are very helpful to the pseudo-capacitance and the wettability of carbon materials. The experimental results demonstrate that N-doped carbon nanowires exhibit superior performance in supercapacitance properties.

Graphical abstractUltrafine N-doped carbon nanowires are synthesized by SBA-15 template from l-arginine at low carbonization temperature. The obtained carbon nanowires possess uniform diameter of around 6.5 nm, meanwhile, a wormlike microporous structure can also be observed (an insert image). These nanowires exhibit good electrochemical performance for electrochemical energy storage.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideResearch highlights► 6.5 nm N-doped carbon nanowires were synthesized by SBA-15 template. ► Ultrafine carbon nanowires were obtained from the carbonization of l-arginine. ► These nanowires exhibit good electrochemical energy storage.