Three-Dimensional Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanotubes/Graphene Structure Used as a Metal-Free Electrocatalyst for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

A three-dimensional (3D) nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes/graphene (NCNTs/G) composite was prepared by pyrolysis of pyridine over a graphene-sheet-supported Ni catalyst. The morphology and structure of the NCNTs/G composite was investigated by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron micro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of physical chemistry. C 2011-12, Vol.115 (50), p.24592-24597
Main Authors: Ma, Yanwen, Sun, Liying, Huang, Wen, Zhang, Lingrong, Zhao, Jin, Fan, Quli, Huang, Wei
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
C: Nanops and Nanostructures
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Summary:A three-dimensional (3D) nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes/graphene (NCNTs/G) composite was prepared by pyrolysis of pyridine over a graphene-sheet-supported Ni catalyst. The morphology and structure of the NCNTs/G composite was investigated by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy. Tangled NCNTs with lengths of several hundred nanometers are sparsely, but tighly, distributed on graphene sheets, forming quasi-aligned NCNT arrays. The N content in the NCNTs/G measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is about 6.6 at. %. The NCNTs/G shows a higher activity and selectivity to the oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline electrolyte compared with undoped CNTs/G, as demonstrated by cyclic voltammetry, rotating disk electrode, and rotating ring-disk electrode measurements. The results indicate that the 3D NCNTs/G composite has potential application in fuel cells.
ISSN:1932-7447
1932-7455
DOI:10.1021/jp207736h