Formation and growth characteristics of nanostructured carbon films on nascent Ag clusters during room-temperature electrochemical CO reduction.

Synthesis of carbon nanostructures at room temperature and under atmospheric pressure is challenging but it can provide significant impact on the development of many future advanced technologies. Here, the formation and growth characteristics of nanostructured carbon films on nascent Ag clusters during room-temperature electrochemical CO reduction reactions (CORR) are demonstrated. Under a ternary electrolyte system containing [BMIm][BF], propylene carbonate, and water, a mixture of sp/sp carbon allotropes were grown on the facets of Ag nanocrystals as building blocks.