Formation of core-shell structures upon methane decomposition on metal-carbon composites with cobalt nanoparticles encapsulated into a porous carbon matrix

A method for the synthesis of core-shell structures during methane decomposition in a cobalt-carbon composite with metal particles uniformly dispersed in its bulk is proposed. These composites are obtained by the low-temperature formation of carbon structures based on reactive conjugated polymers obtained by the dehydrochlorination of chlorine-containing carbon-chain polymers. Eelectron microscopy studies show the formation of structures containing 10–50 graphene layers closely packed around a metal core with an interlayer distance of 0.34–0.35 nm.