Carbon nanofibers with radially oriented channels

An easy templateless method to synthesize porous carbon nanofibers (CNFs) having radially-oriented mesopores is reported, using selective gasification with nano-sized catalyst particles and hydrogen as the gasification reagent. The gasification generated pores whose size corresponds to that of the catalyst particle used for the drilling. The pores were formed along the graphitic layers, reflecting the structural alignment in the CNFs. The pore size and structure can be controlled by selection of catalyst and gasification conditions.