Electrocatalytic Activity and Stability of Nitrogen-Containing Carbon Nanotubes in the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Citations Over TimeTop 1% of 2009 papers

Abstract

Nitrogen-containing carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) were prepared via pyrolysis of acetonitrile over cobalt catalysts at different temperatures to control the nitrogen content. The changes in the chemical and structural properties of undoped CNTs and NCNTs were investigated using high-resolution X-ray photoelectron and Raman spectroscopy. The NCNTs prepared at 550 °C had a higher amount of pyridinic groups and edge plane exposure than the ones prepared at 750 °C. The thermal stability and transformation of these nitrogen functional groups was studied using deconvoluted XP N 1s spectra. The NCNTs show a considerably higher activity in the oxygen reduction reaction in acidic electrolyte compared with undoped CNTs as demonstrated by cyclic voltammetry, rotating disk electrode measurements, and the redox-competition mode of scanning electrochemical microscopy (RC-SECM). Particularly, the NCNT sample prepared at 550 °C exhibited the highest activity, which was about 1 order of magnitude lower than that of a commercial Pt/C sample containing 20 wt % Pt. The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performance of this sample showed hardly any signs of deterioration after 3 days, as determined by voltammetric stability tests in H2SO4.

Related Papers

• → Pyrolysis of Waste Paper: Characterization and Composition of Pyrolysis Oil(2005)43 cited
• → Electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical properties of thiadiazole substituted metallo-phthalocyanines(2015)31 cited
• → Self-catalyzing pyrolysis of olive pomace(2018)21 cited
• → Substituted Hydrocarbons(1972)4 cited
• Effects of inorganic additives on the cyclic voltammetry curves of lead negative(2003)