Abstract
The curd of Romanesco broccoli was carbonized at 900°C under argon atmosphere in a gold furnace chamber. The carbonization afforded a carbon material with a fine logarithmic spiral on the surface, resembling the Fibonacci parastichy structure of the Romanesco broccoli flower bud. The carbonized “flower bud” structure was observed under scanning electron microscopy. Infrared absorption spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements confirmed the chemical structure and component of the carbon material.
Highlights
Carbon materials have had increasing attention due to their remarkable properties like conductivity and chemical stability
The scale of the smallest three-dimensional Fibonacci parastichy structure on the surface of a Romanesco broccoli flower curd ranges around 50 μm (Figure 3(b))
This image resembles the SEM graphof raw Romanesco very well (Figure 4) [11]. These results strongly suggest that a three-dimensional Fibonacci parastichy structure in microscale was achieved by carbonization. 3.2
Summary
Carbon materials have had increasing attention due to their remarkable properties like conductivity and chemical stability. Carbons with micro- or nano-sized structure resembling the starting material were obtained via the carbonization of natural plants [1] [2], DNA [3], and artificially synthesized organic compounds [4] [5]. We chose the Fibonacci parastichy structure, a complex structure with aesthetic and scientific value, as an example for shape-retained carbonization This structure is found in nature plant and animals, such as the curd of Romanesco broccoli [11], seed heads of sunflowers [12], and the shell of the chambered nautilus. Infrared absorption spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were utilized to determine structure
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