Carbon nanofibers prepared by the carbonization of self-assembled cellulose nanocrystals

In this study, we fabricated fibrous carbon materials by using self-assembled cellulose nanocrystal fibers as the precursor. Cellulose nanocrystals at low concentrations, which were isolated from commercial microcystallline cellulose by a sulfuric acid treatment, were self-assembled into fibrous cellulose particles during the frozen process. After a stabilization process, the cellulose nanocrystal fibers were carbonized at 1,000 A degrees C. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and wide-angle X-ray diffraction analysis were used to confirm the formation of amorphous carbon fibers from the cellulose nanocrystal fibers.