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A novel N-doped MOF-based hierarchical carbon fiber (NPCF) towards supercapacitors was prepared by the pyrolysis of MOF nanofibers. Due to its unique 1D hollow structures, the NPCF exhibits better energy storage capacity than the other previously reported MOF-derived carbon materials.

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MOF-based hierarchical carbon fiber is developed as an efficient electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction.

We have demonstrated a facile and controllable synthesis of monodispersed N-doped hollow mesoporous carbon nanospheres (N-HMCSs) and yolk-shell hollow mesoporous carbon nanospheres (N-YSHMCSs) by a modified "silica-assisted" route. The synthesis process can be carried out by using resorcinol-formaldehyde resin as a carbon precursor, melamine as a nitrogen source, hexadecyl trimethylammonium chloride as a template, and silicate oligomers as structure-supporter. The morphological (i.e., particle size, shell thickness, cavity size, and core diameter) and textural features of the carbon nanospheres are easily controlled by varying the amount of ammonium. The resultant carbon nanospheres possess high surface areas (up to 2464 m(2) g(-1)), large pore volumes (up to 2.36 cm(3) g(-1)), and uniform mesopore size (∼2.4 nm for N-HMCSs, ∼ 4.5 nm for N-YSHMCSs). Through combining the hollow mesoporous structure, high porosity, large surface area, and N heteroatomic functionality, the as-synthesized N-doped hollow-structured carbon nanospheres manifest excellent supercapacitor performance with high capacitance (up to 240 F/g), favorable capacitance retention (97.0% capacitive retention after 5000 cycles), and high energy density (up to 11.1 Wh kg(-1)).

Global environmental challenges especially nuclear pollution pose a great threat to human health and public safety. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with high surface area and excellent stability are potential candidates for the remediation of nuclear pollution. Herein, a ZIF-8-based polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibrous filter was prepared by an in situ hydrothermal treatment of fibrous filters consisting of PAN, poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP), and zinc ions with an electrospinning method. In the process of hydrothermal treatment, PVP can be extracted from the PAN nanofibers and result in porous structures. Benefiting from these porous structures, the in situ ZIF-8/PAN filters demonstrated a high adsorption capacity of U(VI) (530.3 mg g at pH = 3.0). The extended X-ray absorption fine structure revealed that the adsorption mechanism demonstrated surface complexation between U(VI) and 2-methylimidazole. Furthermore, the adsorption device was fabricated, and the dynamic adsorption shows that in situ ZIF-8/PAN is a promising material for treating the nuclear wastewater. The present work may provide a new strategy to fabricate MOFs into functional devices to remediate the increasing global environmental concerns.

N-doped hollow carbon spheres (N-HCSs) are promising candidates as electrode material for supercapacitor application. In this work, we report a facile one-step synthesis of discrete and highly dispersible N-HCSs with dopamine (DA) as a carbon precursor and TEOS as a structure-assistant agent in a mixture containing water, ethanol, and ammonia. The architectures of resultant N-HCSs, including yolk-shell hollow carbon spheres (YS-HCSs), single-shell hollow carbon spheres (SS-HCSs), and double-shells hollow carbon spheres (DS-HCSs), can be efficiently controlled through the adjustment of the amount of ammonia. To explain the relation and formation mechanism of these hollow carbon structures, the samples during the different synthetic steps, including polymer/silica spheres, carbon/silica spheres and silica spheres by combustion in air, were characterized by TEM. Electrochemical measurements performed on YS-HCSs, SS-HCSs, and DS-HCSs showed high capacitance with 215, 280, and 381 F g(-1), respectively. Moreover, all the nitrogen-doped hollow carbon nanospheres showed a good cycling stability 97.0% capacitive retention after 3000 cycles. Notably, the highest capacitance of DS-HCSs up to 381 F g(-1) is higher than the capacitance reported so far for many carbon-based materials, which may be attributed to the high surface area, hollow structure, nitrogen functionalization, and double-shell architecture. These kinds of N-doped hollow-structured carbon spheres may show promising prospects as advanced energy storage materials and catalyst supports.

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