Solvothermal synthesis and ferromagnetic property of bamboo-shoot-like oriented carbon micromaterials

Bamboo-shoot-like oriented carbon micromaterials (BOCMs) were synthesized by a solvothermal method at 450°C for 4 h using deoiled asphalt (DOA) as carbon source, toluene as solvent, ferrocene as catalyst precursor and amphiphilic triblock copolymer P123 as surfactant. The morphology and structure of the products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results reveal that the obtained products have good distribution with uniform diameters of about 0.5 μm and the lengths of 1–1.5μm, and hydrogen-carbon bonds are observed on the surface of BOCMs. The growth mechanism of BOCMs is discussed, in which that the catalysis of ferrocene and the dispersion and assembly of the aromatic molecules of DOA directed by P123 are critical to the formation of the BOCMs. The coercivity value (231.91 Oe) from the measurement of a vibrating sample magnetometer shows that the BOCMs have an obvious ferromagnetic behavior.