Development of a General Fabrication Strategy for Carbonaceous Noble Metal Nanocomposites with Photothermal Property

Hongmei Zhu,Xuchuan Jiang

doi:10.1186/s11671-019-3242-1

Abstract

This study demonstrates a simple hydrothermal method while can be generalized for controllable synthesis of noble metallic carbonaceous nanostructures (e.g., Au@C, Ag@C) under mild conditions (180–200 °C), which also provides a unique approach for fabricating hollow carbonaceous structures by removal of cores (e.g., silver) via a redox etching process. The microstructure and composition of the as-achieved nanoparticles have been characterized using various microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), serving as a surfactant in the reaction system, plays a key role in the formation of Ag@C, Au@C nanocables, and their corresponding hollow carbonaceous nanotubes in this work. The dynamic growth and formation mechanism of carbonaceous nanostructures was discussed in detail. And finally, laser-induced photothermal property of Au@C nanocomposites was examined. The results may be useful for designing and constructing carbonaceous metal(s) or metal oxide(s) nanostructures with potential applications in the areas of electrochemical catalysis, energy storage, adsorbents, and biomedicine.Graphic abstractThis study demonstrate a facile hydrothermal synthesis of noble metal carbonaceous nanocomposites (e.g., Au@C) with simple procedures under mild conditions, which can be25expanded as a general method for preparing diverse carbonaceous core-shell nanoparticles. The Au@C carbonaceous nanostructures exhibit interesting UV-Vis properties dependent upon shell thickness.

Highlights

Carbon materials have become more and more important in material science and technology
It was found that only one-dimensional Silver carbonaceous nanostructure (Ag@C) nanocables but carbonaceous spheres were formed, indicating that the self-nucleation and growth process via the carbonization of glucose have been significantly suppressed, and the coating process on Ag core is dominant under our reported conditions
This study developed a general strategy for the synthesis of noble metal carbonaceous nanocomposities (Au@C, Ag@C) with different morphologies by controlling hydrothermal conditions

Summary

Introduction

Carbon materials have become more and more important in material science and technology. Carbonaceous metal nanocomposites have attracted more interests due to its excellent biocompatibility in medical applications. To achieve such carbonacesous particles or their metallic hybrid structures, a number of methods have been developed, e.g., hydrothermal method, using sugar or starch as a starting material [14], for example, one-step hydrothermal synthesis of carbonaceous. Zhu and Jiang Nanoscale Research Letters (2020) 15:17 silver nanocables and nanotubes after etching silver core s[15], a template approach for preparing Ag/Cu@poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) coaxial nanocables, tellurium (Te)@PVA nanostructures [16], and porous membranebased template and positive hard templates [17,18,19,20] for the synthesis of carbonaceous nanostructures. A little was reported to elucidate the formation/evolution mechanism of carbonaceous noble metal nanostructures achieved under the reported conditions

Methods

Results

Conclusion