Direct production of carbon nanosheets by self-ignition of pyrophoric lithium dialkylamides in air

Abstract Carbon nanosheets are spontaneously produced from the decomposition of pyrophoric lithium dialkylamides in air. The heat released from the exothermic decomposition of the precursors is further utilized to produce mechanical work through a Peltier thermoelectric device. The nanosheets are amorphous containing O/N structural heteroatoms and exhibit specific surface area values roughly in the range 100–150 m2 g−1. Surface decoration of the sheets with gold nanoparticles results in functional nanohybrids that seem to be conceptually similar to those of gold-graphene nanohybrids and could be used for further catalytic applications.