CO2 Utilization for Preparation of Carbon Nanostructures

The CO2 conversion to valuable materials is a challenging way to manage pollution problems. In the present work, CO2 was used as a feedstock to synthesize solid carbon nanostructures by employing a simple magnesiothermic reduction reaction under constant gas flow in a tube furnace. It was shown that the CO2 reduction at 675 oC led to the simultaneous formation of different nanocarbon morphologies including graphene, tubular and spherical carbon nanostructures. The synthesized material was characterized using XRD analysis, Raman spectroscopy, SEM and TEM microscopies which demonstrated its good crystallinity and morphological diversity. Electrochemical tests were performed to evaluate specific capacitance and cycling stability of the prepared sample. The calculated values of ~ 325 F/g at scan rate 0.1 V/s revealed that the obtained nanostructures can be used as effective functional material for supercapactior applications.