High conducting sepiolite–graphenelike carbon nanocomposite from sugar residual as carbon source

Abstract

The use of the sugar cane molasses (residual product), as a substitute of the sucrose such as carbon source, for the preparation of sepiolite–graphenelike carbon hybrid nanostructured material, is evaluated for the first time. The synthesised composite presents the higher electronic conductivity reported up to this moment (from 77 to 303 K) in correspondence with its disordered graphenelike carbon component showed by Raman study. Both carbon and sepiolite components in fibrous solids are indistinguishable from scanning electron micrograph and consist of cohesive aggregates, coherently with its high electronic conductivity. This result opens a window for the application of this conducting material at very low temperatures.