Nitrogen-Containing Carbon Tubes Fabricated by Light Irradiation

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Polypyrrole (PPy) is a conductive polymer with photothermal properties.
• Nitrogen-containing carbon (NCC) materials have diverse applications due to their unique properties.
• Developing efficient methods for synthesizing NCC materials is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize nitrogen-containing carbon (NCC) tubes using a novel photothermal conversion method.
• To explore the use of cotton/polypyrrole (PPy) fibers as precursors for NCC tube fabrication.
• To investigate the influence of light sources and PPy sheath thickness on NCC tube characteristics.

Main Methods:

• Cotton-core/polypyrrole (PPy)-sheath fibers were synthesized via aqueous chemical oxidative seeded polymerization.
• Near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation or sunlight was used for photothermal conversion, decomposing the cotton core and converting the PPy sheath into NCC.
• Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), elemental microanalysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman spectroscopy were employed for characterization.

Main Results:

• Formation of hollow tubes with monodispersed diameters was observed.
• The PPy sheath was successfully converted into nitrogen-containing carbon (NCC).
• Tube thickness was tunable from 410 nm to 2.30 μm by adjusting the PPy sheath thickness.
• The method demonstrated applicability to other polymer fibers like acrylic and wool.

Conclusions:

• A facile and scalable method for producing NCC tubes from polymer/PPy fibers was established.
• Photothermal conversion using NIR laser or sunlight offers an effective route for NCC synthesis.
• The morphology of the resulting NCC tubes closely mimics the precursor polymer/PPy fibers.