Facile one-step synthesis of N-doped carbon nanotubes/N-doped carbon nanofibers hierarchical composites by chemical vapor deposition.

The composites consisting of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNTs) and nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers (N-CNFs) were fabricated using a mixture of nickel foam (template) and imidazole (solid precursor) in a facile one-step chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. The morphology and microstructure of the N-doped carbon nanotubes/N-doped carbon nanofibers hierarchical composites (N-CNTs/N-CNFs) were determined by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectra, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results indicated that the sample manifests regular hierarchical composites, great graphitization, and nitrogen doping. Furthermore, a probable growth mechanism is presented to analyze the composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]