A system and process for producing doped carbon nanomaterials is disclosed. A carbonate electrolyte including a doping component is provided during the electrolysis between an anode and a cathode immersed in carbonate electrolyte contained in a cell. The carbonate electrolyte is heated to a molten state. An electrical current is applied to the anode, and cathode, to the molten carbonate electrolyte disposed between the anode and cathode. A morphology element maximizes carbon nanotubes, versus graphene versus carbon nano-onion versus hollow carbon nano-sphere nanomaterial product. The resulting carbon nanomaterial growth is collected from the cathode of the cell.

A nanostructure includes a plurality of substantially spherically curved carbon layers having diameters in a range of 1 nanometer to 1000 nanometers and a plurality of halogen atoms attached to an outer convex side of the carbon layers. A composition of matter includes a liquid fuel and an additive including at least one liquid and a plurality of carbon nano-onions. A method of fabricating an additive for liquid fuel includes creating a carbon-based material using a plasma in an environment including at least one hydrocarbon gas and/or at least one liquid containing hydrocarbons, organometallic metal-complex, and/or element-organic compounds, evaporating organic material from the carbon-based material, halogenating the carbon-based material, and extracting carbon nano-onions from the halogenated carbon-based material.

A nanostructure includes a plurality of substantially spherically curved carbon layers having diameters in a range of 1 nanometer to 1000 nanometers and a plurality of halogen atoms attached to an outer convex side of the carbon layers. A composition of matter includes a liquid fuel and an additive including at least one liquid and a plurality of carbon nano-onions. A method of fabricating an additive for liquid fuel includes creating a carbon-based material using a plasma in an environment including at least one hydrocarbon gas and/or at least one liquid containing hydrocarbons, organometallic metal-complex, and/or element-organic compounds, evaporating organic material from the carbon-based material, halogenating the carbon-based material, and extracting carbon nano-onions from the halogenated carbon-based material.

Disclosed herein are methods of synthesizing carbon nano-onions, their functionalization methods, and their use as electrode material. More specifically, disclosed are methods of converting nanodiamonds into carbon nano-onions, chemical synthesis of carbon nano-onions from reagents, and functionalization using reagents, reactive gases, and photoexcitation. The use of the synthesized and functionalized carbon nano-onions as an electrode by using them as a composite structure is also disclosed.

Disclosed herein are methods of synthesizing carbon nano-onions, their functionalization methods, and their use as electrode material. More specifically, disclosed are methods of converting nanodiamonds into carbon nano-onions, chemical synthesis of carbon nano-onions from reagents, and functionalization using reagents, reactive gases, and photoexcitation. The use of the synthesized and functionalized carbon nano-onions as an electrode by using them as a composite structure is also disclosed.

The present invention discloses a method for preparing surface-active onion-like carbon nanospheres based on vapor deposition, comprising: directly preparing high-surface-activity onion-like carbon nanospheres formed by coating ferroferric oxide nano-particles on an onion-like graphitized shell by taking liquid small organic molecule alkane n-dodecane as a carbon source to perform chemical vapor deposition at high temperature of 650˜700° C. in an inert carrier gas environment with existence of a ferrocene catalyst. An onion-like carbon nanosphere product prepared according to the present invention has good surface activity and thermal stability, is wide in practicability, and can be widely applied to the fields of adsorbing materials, energy storage materials, catalytic materials, medical materials and the like.

The present invention discloses a method for preparing surface-active onion-like carbon nanospheres based on vapor deposition, comprising: directly preparing high-surface-activity onion-like carbon nanospheres formed by coating ferroferric oxide nano-particles on an onion-like graphitized shell by taking liquid small organic molecule alkane n-dodecane as a carbon source to perform chemical vapor deposition at high temperature of 650˜700° C. in an inert carrier gas environment with existence of a ferrocene catalyst. An onion-like carbon nanosphere product prepared according to the present invention has good surface activity and thermal stability, is wide in practicability, and can be widely applied to the fields of adsorbing materials, energy storage materials, catalytic materials, medical materials and the like.

Newly discovered allotrope of carbon having a multilayered nanocarbon array exhibits among other properties exceptional stability, electrical conductivity and electromagnetic frequency (emf) attenuation characteristics. Members of this new allotrope include nanocarbon structures possessing vast electron delocalization in multiple directions unavailable to known fullerene-characterized materials like carbon nano-onions (CNOs), multiwalled carbon nano-tubes (MWNTs), graphene, carbon nano-horns, and carbon nano-ellipsoids such that stabilizing electron delocalization crosses or proceeds between layers as well as along layers in multiple directions within a continuous cyclic structure having an advanced interlayer connectivity bonding system involving the whole carbon array apart from incidental defects.

Newly discovered allotrope of carbon having a multilayered nanocarbon array exhibits among other properties exceptional stability, electrical conductivity and electromagnetic frequency (emf) attenuation characteristics. Members of this new allotrope include nanocarbon structures possessing vast electron delocalization in multiple directions unavailable to known fullerene-characterized materials like carbon nano-onions (CNOs), multiwalled carbon nano-tubes (MWNTs), graphene, carbon nano-horns, and carbon nano-ellipsoids such that stabilizing electron delocalization crosses or proceeds between layers as well as along layers in multiple directions within a continuous cyclic structure having an advanced interlayer connectivity bonding system involving the whole carbon array apart from incidental defects.

A low carbon footprint material is used to decrease the carbon dioxide emission for production of a high carbon footprint substance. A method of forming composite materials comprises providing a first high carbon footprint substance; providing a carbon nanomaterial produced with a carbon-footprint of less than 10 unit weight of carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) emission during production of 1 unit weight of the carbon nanomaterial; and forming a composite comprising the high carbon footprint substance and from 0.001 wt % to 25 wt % of the carbon nanomaterial, wherein the carbon nanomaterial is homogeneously dispersed in the composite to reduce the carbon dioxide emission for producing the composite material relative to the high carbon footprint substance.