| Abstract
| - Microwave-assisted pyrolysis was used to fabricate porous carbon nanostructures from biomass precursors filled with a conducting polymer and Fe catalyst species. The morphology and porosity of the biomass precursors, which were wood, cotton, and filter paper, were retained, but their infrastructure became highly graphitic after the microwave treatment. The conducting polymer served as the microwave absorbent, while the Fe species catalyzed the polymerization of pyrrole in the first step as well as the successive very fast pyrolysis of the biomass precursor during microwave irradiation. The obtained graphitic carbon materials have relatively high surface areas and an open and accessible porosity. The building blocks of the porous materials have changed from natural polymer tissues to various graphitic carbon nanostructures, such as nanofoams, nanoflakes, nanoribbons, and spongelike nanosheets. After the removal of the Fe species, these porous carbon nanostructures can be used as good hosts for catalyst particles.
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