Effect of pyrolysis temperature on the microstructure of disordered carbon nanowires

Without any catalyst or pressure, bulk non-graphitizing carbon does not exhibit any change in its atomic order (or graphitize) even at 3000 °C. We propose a route for significant graphitization in polymer-derived disordered carbon materials at moderate temperatures by pre-aligning the precursor polymer chains. Accordingly, we employ a template-based fabrication process, where the capillary forces align the polyfurfuryl alcohol chains in the form of nanowires with diameter from 100–200 nm. The nanowires are pyrolyzed at temperatures ranging from 600 °C to 2000 °C and characterized with transmission electron and Raman microscopy as well as electrical conductivity measurements. The observed significant change in atomic rearrangement is explained by the alignment of precursor chains during the templated synthesis.