Precisely Controlled Vertical Alignment in Mesostructured Carbon Thin Films for Efficient Electrochemical Sensing

Two-dimensional carbon materials, incorporating a large mesoporosity, are attracting considerable research interest in various fields such as catalysis, electrochemistry, and energy-related technologies owing to their integrated functionalities. However, their potential applications, which require favorable mass transport within mesopore channels, are constrained by the undesirable and finite mesostructural configurations due to the immense synthetic difficulties. Herein, we demonstrate an oriented monomicelle assembly strategy, for the facile fabrication of highly ordered mesoporous carbon thin films with vertically aligned and permeable mesopore channels. Such a facile and reproducible approach relies on the swelling and fusion effect of hydrophobic benzene homologues for directional monomicelle assembly. The orientation assembly process shows precise controllability and great universality, affording mesoporous carbon films with a cracking-free structure over a centimeter in size, highly tunable thicknesses (13 to 85 nm, an interval of similar to 12 nm), mesopore size (8.4 to 13.5 nm), and switchable growth substrates. Owing to their large permeable mesopore channels, electrochemical sensors based on vertical mesoporous carbon films exhibit an ultralow limit of detection (50 nmol L-1) and great sensitivity in dopamine detection.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates a novel strategy for the fabrication of highly ordered mesoporous carbon thin films with vertically aligned and permeable mesopore channels through oriented monomicelle assembly. The precise controllability of the mesoporous carbon films' structure is achieved by utilizing the swelling and fusion effect of hydrophobic benzene homologues. The resulting mesoporous carbon films exhibit highly tunable thicknesses, mesopore sizes, and switchable growth substrates, showing ultralow detection limits and great sensitivity in electrochemical sensors.