Application of a Catechol-Polyamine Co-Deposition method for synthesis of Heteroatom-Doped carbon nanomaterials

Mussel-inspired chemistry, based on dopamine and its derivatives, has attracted widespread attention in the past decade. However, dopamine and its derivatives are expensive and the modification process requires a large amount of buffer solution, which greatly hinder their large-scale application. Here, a simple, versatile and costeffective catechol-polyamine (Cat-amine) co-deposition method, which has excellent conformal coating performance independent of the composition, dimension, and shape of the substrate, has been developed. The codeposition takes place in water, and the thickness of the resultant conformal Cat-amine polymer coating can be precisely tailored. In addition, due to the elemental composition of the as-prepared Cat-amine coating is adjustable, N doped or N, S co-doped carbon frameworks with various shapes can be easily prepared. As representative examples, yolk-shell structured nanospheres with nickel silicate inside the hollow N doped carbon nanospheres have been prepared. The composite nanospheres exhibit excellent cycle stability and superior rate capability when evaluated as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. This highly reproducible and scalable approach provides new ideas for the large-scale preparation of advanced carbon nanocomposites.

Automated summary

The mussel-inspired catechol-polyamine (Cat-amine) co-deposition method provides a simple, versatile, and cost-effective way to produce conformal coating with adjustable elemental composition. The resulting N-doped or N, S-co-doped carbon frameworks can be easily tailored to various shapes. As demonstrated with yolk-shell structured nanospheres, they exhibit excellent cycle stability and superior rate capability when used as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, showcasing the potential for large-scale preparation of advanced carbon nanocomposites.