LAUSR

Abstract Study on the formation of hydrogenated carbon nanomaterials is very important for their synthesis and understanding the properties. Here we show the time-dependent growth process of the hydrogenated carbon nano-onion spheres (CNOSs) in a solvothermal method, giving important information on the underlying mechanism for the hydrogenated CNOSs formation. By tuning the reaction time for CNOSs growth, we unexpectedly find that graphitic CNOSs are formed within short reaction time, and then the hydrogenation of CNOSs takes place. The degrees of hydrogenation increase as the reaction time increases, resulting in the hydrogenated CNOSs. This gives new insight into the synthesis of hydrogenated carbon nano-onions, enabling the degree of hydrogenation to be tuned.