Journal Article

Synthesis of 2D amorphous carbons via energy-autonomous carbonization of polyaniline upon decomposition of HClO

Shen, Liu-Liu, Mei, Donghai, Etzold, Bastian J. M., Spiecker, Erdmann, Zhang, Gui-Rong, Zhang, Weiwei, Zheng, Wen-Tao, Wu, Mingjian

2026

Overview

Despite centuries of advancement, the synthesis of carbon materials remains heavily reliant on energy-intensive thermal processes. Conventional methods require external heating for prolonged periods to overcome high energy barriers, posing challenges for sustainable large-scale production. Here we show an energy-autonomous synthesis pathway that utilizes the intrinsic chemical energy stored within a polyaniline-HClO 4 composite. Triggered by mild thermal, microwave, or mechanical stimulation, the precursor undergoes a rapid exothermic self-propagation driven by the explosive decomposition of perchlorate species. This single-step process, completed in ≈0.4 s, simultaneously generates intense localized heat and a massive volume of gas, which forcibly exfoliates and carbonizes the polymer into interconnected 2D amorphous carbon nanosheets. We demonstrate that this energy-efficient method achieves carbon conversion efficiencies comparable to traditional pyrolysis. Furthermore, the reaction intensity is precisely tunable via the precursor water content, ensuring potential for safe industrial scale-up. This approach also enables the atomic-level incorporation of transition metals, creating a versatile platform for the design of catalysts for oxygen and carbon dioxide reduction reactions. This work provides a scalable, energy-autonomous pathway for carbon synthesis and offers a platform for the precise construction of catalytic architectures. Conventional carbon synthesis is energy intensive. Here, the authors introduce an energy-autonomous pathway using polyaniline-HClO 4 composites. This rapid reaction yields carbon nanosheets with tunable active sites for electrocatalysis.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group,Nature Portfolio
• Subject: 119/118 / 147/143 / 639/301/299 / 639/638/298 / 639/638/77/886 / Carbon / Carbon dioxide / Chemical energy / Chemical reduction / Chemical synthesis / Decomposition / Energy / Energy efficiency / Exothermic reactions / Humanities and Social Sciences / Mechanical stimuli / Moisture content / multidisciplinary / Nanosheets / Perchlorate / Perchloric acid / Polyanilines / Polymers / Pore size / Precursors / Pyrolysis / Scanning electron microscopy / Science / Science (multidisciplinary) / Self propagation / Spectrum analysis / Transition metals / Water content