LAUSR

Abstract Considerable researches have reported on the design of superstructured materials to exploit synergistic properties derived from building units. However, it is still limited to utilize superstructured materials in diverse ways by manipulating their characteristics and structures according to the required properties. This study presents a novel strategy for utilizing versatile reorganization of metal-polyphenol coordination to design multifunctional macroscopic superstructured materials based on carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The metal-polyphenol compounds surrounding the surface of CNTs adjust surface charges to overcome strong intermolecular van der Waals interaction, thereby forming stable aqueous dispersion. It is possible to assemble distinctive honeycomb-structured CNT aerogel from highly concentrated CNT suspension due to tiny 2D structured TA that connects the CNTs. Furthermore, metal ion and TA on the CNT network can be converted to metal oxide nanoparticle coated with thin carbon layer, which exhibits high potential as an anode material for lithium-ion battery.