High oxygen reduction activity of few-walled carbon nanotubes with low nitrogen content

Autor(en)

Maryam Borghei, Petri Kanninen, Meri Lundahl, Toma Susi, Jani Sainio, Ilya Anoshkin, Albert Nasibulin, Tanja Kallio, Kaido Tammeveski, Esko Kauppinen, Viginia Ruiz

Abstrakt

Nitrogen-containing few-walled carbon nanotubes (N-FWCNTs) with very low nitrogen content (0.56 at.%) were obtained by a process involving the coating of acid functionalized FWCNTs with polyaniline (PANI) followed by pyrolysis at high temperatures. The resulting N-FWCNTs exhibited a remarkable electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), despite significantly lower nitrogen content than previously reported in literature. The N-FWCNTs performed on par or better than Pt-C in the cathode of an alkaline direct methanol fuel cell, corroborating the ORR activity observed in the electrochemical cell and exhibiting a higher methanol tolerance. Interestingly, N-FWCNTs showed a high activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction and for the hydrogen peroxide decomposition, suggesting that the active sites involved in ORR can simultaneously catalyze other reactions. This unprecedentedly high activity for such a low N-content can be explained by the exceptional accessibility for the catalytic sites located in open and porous N-doped layer surrounding the FWCNT core, along with the minimization of inactive inner volume and mass compared to larger nitrogen doped multiwalled tubes.

Organisation(en)

Elektronische Materialeigenschaften

Externe Organisation(en)

Aalto University, University of Tartu, CIDETEC

Journal

Applied Catalysis B: Environmental

Band

158-159

Seiten

233-241

Anzahl der Seiten

9

ISSN

0926-3373

Publikationsdatum

10-2014

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

103020 Oberflächenphysik, 103018 Materialphysik, 103009 Festkörperphysik

Schlagwörter

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Allgemeine Umweltwissenschaft, Process Chemistry and Technology, Catalysis

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/60ef11d3-2b62-4dc3-a2d1-8d95424afcab