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Single-handed helical tantalum pentoxide nanotubes with inner chiral organic self-assemblies were prepared through a supramolecular templating approach. After carbonization and removal of tantalum pentoxide, single-handed twisted carbonaceous nanotubes were obtained. The handedness of the carbonaceous nanotubes followed that of the tantalum pentoxide nanotubes. The carbonaceous nanotubes were formed due to the adsorption of the organic self-assemblies on the inner surfaces of the tantalum pentoxide nanotubes and the shrinkage of organic self-assemblies during the drying process and subsequently carbonization. The X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy characterizations indicated that the carbon was amorphous. The circular dichroism spectra indicated that the twisted carbonaceous nanotubes exhibited optical activity. The elemental analysis showed that these carbonaceous nanotubes were N-doped. These N-doped carbonaceous materials might find applications as catalysts and chirality sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It’s meaningful to design and fabricate novel high-performance carbon anode materials for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). Herein, 3-aminophenol-formaldehyde resin/silica nanorods were synthesized via a sol–gel transcription method, using cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide as the template and pentanol as co-structure directing agent. After carbonization at 600 °C and removal of silica, carbonaceous nanorods with N content of 7.87 wt% and specific surface area of 551.3 m 2 g −1 were obtained. They showed a stable discharge capacity of 696.7 mAh g −1 after 400 cycles. Carbonaceous nanorods (comprising 9.6 wt% β-SiC) with N content of 1.22 wt% and specific surface area of 1079.1 m 2 g −1 were also obtained at 1400 °C. They showed a stable discharge capacity of 457.9 mAh g −1 after 400 cycles. The results prove that the synthesized N-doped carbonaceous nanorods are good anode candidates for LIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]