Activity and active sites of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes for oxygen reduction reaction

The effect of nitrogen species on the catalytic properties of N-doped graphene

The production of effective catalysts in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) continues to be a great challenge for scientists. A constant increase in demand for energy storage materials is followed by a proportionate increase in the number of reports on electrocatalyst synthesis. The scientific world focuses on environmentally friendly materials synthesized in accordance with the safest possible. In this work, we developed a facile method of obtaining heavy-metal-free electrode materials that are effective in ORR. Graphene-based catalysts were doped using azodicarbonamide (ADC) as the source of nitrogen, then carbonized at high temperatures in the range of 700-900 °C under inert gas flow. The produced materials were tested as catalysts for ORR, which is the most important reaction for Zn-air batteries and fuel cells. All obtained nitrogen-doped graphene foams showed increased catalytic activity in ORR owing to active sites created by nitrogen functional groups on the graphene surface. This paper shows that carbonization temperature has a significant impact on nitrogen content and that a small percentage of nitrogen may have a positive effect on the catalytic activity of the obtained materials. The number of transferred electrons in ORR was found to range from three to the maximal theoretical value, i.e., four.

Enhancement of Light Olefins Selectivity Over N-Doped Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis Catalyst Supported on Activated Carbon Pretreated with KMnO4

Ammonium iron citrate was used as an iron precursor in order to prepare N-doped catalysts supported on KMnO4 pretreated activated carbon (10MnK-AC). Iron nitride was synthesized in company with the formation of α-Fe2O3 on 10MnK-AC. The characterizations of the catalysts show that nitrogen atoms were doped into iron lattice rather than the networks of the carbon support. The performance of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis to light olefins (FTO) suggest an improvement in O/P ratio (olefins to paraffins molar ratio of C2–C4) over the iron catalysts supported on 10MnK-AC. The further promotion of light olefins selectivity (up to 44.7%) was obtained over FeN-10MnK-AC catalyst owing to the collaborative contribution of the electron donor effect of nitrogen and the suppression effect on the second hydrogenation over 10MnK-AC support.

Highly selective two-electron oxygen reduction to generate hydrogen peroxide using graphite felt modified with N-doped graphene in an electro-Fenton system

Preferential promotion of the two-electron reduction reaction of dissolved oxygen by controlling the type and amount of doped nitrogen atoms.

Highly Graphitic Mesoporous Fe,N-Doped Carbon Materials for Oxygen Reduction Electrochemical Catalysts

The synthesis, characterization, and electrocatalytic properties of mesoporous carbon materials doped with nitrogen atoms and iron are reported and compared for the catalyzed reduction of oxygen gas at fuel cell cathodes. Mixtures of common and inexpensive organic precursors, melamine, and formaldehyde were pyrolyzed in the presence of transition-metal salts (e.g., nitrates) within a mesoporous silica template to yield mesoporous carbon materials with greater extents of graphitization than those of others prepared from small-molecule precursors. In particular, Fe,N-doped carbon materials possessed high surface areas (∼800 m²/g) and high electrical conductivities (∼19 S/cm), which make them attractive for electrocatalyst applications. The surface compositions of the mesoporous Fe,N-doped carbon materials were postsynthetically modified by acid washing and followed by high-temperature thermal treatments, which were shown by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to favor the formation of graphitic and pyridinic nitrogen moieties. Such surface-modified materials exhibited high electrocatalytic oxygen reduction activities under alkaline conditions, as established by their high onset and half-wave potentials (1.04 and 0.87 V, respectively vs reversible hydrogen electrode) and low Tafel slope (53 mV/decade). These values are superior to many similar transition-metal- and N-doped carbon materials and compare favorably with commercially available precious-metal catalysts, e.g., 20 wt % Pt supported on activated carbon. The analyses indicate that inexpensive mesoporous Fe,N-doped carbon materials are promising alternatives to precious metal-containing catalysts for electrochemical reduction of oxygen in polymer electrolyte fuel cells.

Heteroatom-Doped Carbon Nanotube and Graphene-Based Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is a key step that determines the performance of a variety of energy storage and conversion devices, such as fuel cells and metal-air batteries. Heteroatom-doped carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphenes have attracted increasing interest and hold great promise as efficient ORR catalysts to replace noble-metal-based catalysts, owing to their unique structure characteristics, excellent physicochemical properties, low cost, and rich resources. In this review, recent progress on the design, fabrication, and performance of heteroatom-doped CNT- and graphene-based catalysts is summarized, aiming to provide insights into the working mechanism of these heteroatom-doped nanocarbons in ORR. The advantages, challenges that remain, and possible solutions of these nanocarbon-based electrocatalysts are discussed. Finally, future developing trends of the CNT- and graphene-based ORR catalysts are proposed.

Eutectic Syntheses of Graphitic Carbon with High Pyrazinic Nitrogen Content

Mixtures of phenols/ketones and urea show eutectic behavior upon gentle heating. These mixtures possess liquid-crystalline-like phases that can be processed. The architecture of phenol/ketone acts as structure-donating motif, while urea serves as melting-point reduction agent. Condensation at elevated temperatures results in nitrogen-containing carbons with remarkably high nitrogen content of mainly pyrazinic nature.

A nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon containing an embedded network of carbon nanotubes as a highly efficient catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction

A nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon containing a network of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was produced for use as a catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). SiO2 nanoparticles were decorated with clusters of Fe atoms to act as catalyst seeds for CNT growth, after which the material was impregnated with aniline. After polymerization of the aniline, the material was pyrolysed and the SiO2 was removed by acid treatment. The resulting carbon-based hybrid also contained some Fe from the CNT growth catalyst and was doped with N from the aniline. The Fe-N species act as active catalytic sites and the CNT network enables efficient electron transport in the material. Mesopores left by the removal of the SiO2 template provide short transport pathways and easy access to ions. As a result, the catalyst showed not only excellent ORR activity, with 59 mV more positive onset potential and 30 mV more positive half-wave potential than a Pt/C catalyst, but also much longer durability and stronger tolerance to methanol crossover than a Pt/C catalyst.

Carbon nanotube membrane stack for flow-through sequential regenerative electro-Fenton

Electro-Fenton is a promising advanced oxidation process for water treatment consisting a series redox reactions. Here, we design and examine an electrochemical filter for sequential electro-Fenton reactions to optimize the treatment process. The carbon nanotube (CNT) membrane stack (thickness ∼ 200 μm) used here consisted of 1) a CNT network cathode for O2 reduction to H2O2, 2) a CNT-COOFe(2+) cathode to chemical reduction H2O2 to (•)OH and HO(-) and to regenerate Fe(2+) in situ, 3) a porous PVDF or PTFE insulating separator, and 4) a CNT filter anode for remaining intermediate oxidation intermediates. The sequential electro-Fenton was compared to individual electrochemical and Fenton process using oxalate, a persistent organic, as a target molecule. Synergism is observed during the sequential electro-Fenton process. For example, when [DO]in = 38 ± 1 mg L(-1), J = 1.6 mL min(-1), neutral pH, and Ecell = 2.89 V, the sequential electro-Fenton oxidation rate was 206.8 ± 6.3 mgC m(-2) h(-1), which is 4-fold greater than the sum of the individual electrochemistry (16.4 ± 3.2 mgC m(-2) h(-1)) and Fenton (33.3 ± 1.3 mgC m(-2) h(-1)) reaction fluxes, and the energy consumption was 45.8 kWh kgTOC(-1). The sequential electro-Fenton was also challenged with the refractory trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and trichloroacetic acid (TCA), and they can be transferred at a removal rate of 11.3 ± 1.2 and 21.8 ± 1.9 mmol m(-2) h(-1), respectively, with different transformation mechanisms.

Enhanced electrocatalytic activity of nitrogen-doped multi-walled carbon nanotubes towards the oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline media

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube materials derived from dicyandiamide and cyanamide are highly active electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline media.

Substitutional doping of carbon nanotubes with heteroatoms and their chemical applications

The electronic properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can be tuned by substitutional doping with heteroatoms (mainly B and N) to expand the applications of CNTs. Based on the comprehensive understanding of the substitutional doping of CNTs, it should be possible to deliberately design doped CNTs for specific purposes. Thus, relevant experimental and theoretical works are reviewed herein in an attempt to correlate the synthetic methods, electronic properties, and applications of heteroatom-doped CNTs. The distribution and arrangement of heteroatoms in the graphitic lattice of CNTs can be modulated through the choice of synthetic conditions, which would further lead to different electronic properties of CNTs for their chemical applications.