Structural and magnetic properties of nitrogen-doped carbon materials derived from an ionic liquid precursor

•The structure, chemical composition and magnetic properties of nitrogen-containing graphite carbon materials obtained by pyrolysis from [BMIm] [TCM] ionic liquids were systematically investigated by changing the preparation conditions.•The sample prepared at a pyrolysis temperature of 400 °C showed the highest nitrogen content and had an average chemical composition of C1N1.10.•The samples prepared in this experiment do not exhibit ferromagnetic transitions up to 2 K.•All the samples prepared in this study had the structural properties of soft carbon. In this report, effects of pyrolysis conditions on the structure and magnetic properties of nitrogen-doped graphitic carbon materials prepared from 1-Buthyl-3-methyl imidazolium tricyano methanide ( [BMIm] [TCM]) ionic liquids(ILs) were investigated. It was found that nitrogen-containing graphitic carbon was formed under pyrolysis temperature of 400 °C or higher. Under the experimental conditions, the maximum nitrogen content of the obtained sample was C4N1.10 at a pyrolysis temperature of 400 °C and it was found that the nitrogen content in the obtained samples decreased with increasing pyrolysis temperature. Ferromagnetism was not observed in all the obtained samples to 2 K. From the value of the orbital diamagnetic susceptibility and XRD, it was found that the obtained sample had the structural characteristics of soft carbon.