Carbon nanofoams (CNFs) are open, weblike carbon networks with a large surface area, high porosity, and very low mass density. They have promising applications in catalysis, tribology, energy storage, and in magnetoelectronics (after reports of intrinsic magnetism). The theoretical group of the Unit has recently investigated the microstructure of this novel material, and how it correlates to the optoelectronic properties. Central findings are that CNFs with appropriately tuned densities have a nanostructured network with medium-range correlations, and that they are metallic with high conductivity and optical absorption. It was also confirmed that CNFs contain trivalent carbon atoms, suggested to be a major source of intrinsic magnetism. The results have been published in the journal of Physical Review B.

C. Mathioudakis and P. C. Kelires, “Atomistic simulations of low-density nanoporous materials: Carbon nanofoams”, Phys. Rev. B 87, 195408 (2013).