Fabrication of hierarchical cabbage-like carbonaceous materials by one-step cobalt-assisted hydrothermal carbonization of furfural

In this study, 3D hierarchical cabbage-like carbonaceous materials (CCMs) have been fabricated by one-step hydrothermal carbonization of furfural in the presence of cobalt acetylacetonate under mild condition. The morphologies and structures of the CCMs could be well controlled by regulating the reaction conditions including reactant concentration, reaction temperature and time. It was revealed that the cobalt acted as a structure-directing agent during the formation of the cabbage-like structures, which induced the morphology evolution of the products from microspheres into hierarchical CCMs. The good electrochemical performance and well-loading of Pt nanoparticles on the surface of the CCMs further indicated that the CCMs have potential applications in electrochemical capacitors and heterogeneous catalysis.