Transforming collagen wastes into doped nanocarbons for sustainable energy applicationsElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c2gc35262a

Leather industry produces huge quantities of bio-waste that can be used as raw material for the bulk synthesis of carbonaceous materials. Here we report the synthesis of multifunctional carbon nanostructures from pristine collagen wastes by a simple high temperature treatment. Our studies reveal that the nanocarbons derived from the bio-waste have a partially graphitized structure with onion-like morphology and are naturally doped with nitrogen and oxygen, resulting in multifunctional properties. This synthetic route from bio-waste raw material provides a cost-effective alternative to existing chemical vapor deposition methods for the synthesis of functional nanocarbon materials and presents a sustainable approach to tailor nanocarbons for applications such as battery electrodes. A simple high temperature treatment of collagen wastes yields nanocarbons with onion-like morphologies naturally doped with nitrogen and oxygen, resulting in multifunctional properties thereby paving the way for sustainable energy applications.