Nitrogen doped carbon nanotubes and their impact on the oxygen reduction reaction in fuel cells

Nitrogen doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNTs) with different nitrogen contents were synthesized as non-precious catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) through varying the relative amount of pyridine and ethanol in the stock solution. The structural and chemical properties of the N-CNTs were invest...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Carbon (New York) 2010-09, Vol.48 (11), p.3057-3065
Main Authors: Chen, Zhu, Higgins, Drew, Chen, Zhongwei
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Carbon
Carbon nanotubes
Catalysis
Chemistry
Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science
rheology
Electrochemistry
Energy
Energy. Thermal use of fuels
Equipments for energy generation and conversion: thermal, electrical, mechanical energy, etc
Ethanol
Ethyl alcohol
Exact sciences and technology
Fuel cells
Fullerenes and related materials
diamonds, graphite
General and physical chemistry
Kinetics and mechanism of reactions
Materials science
Physics
Pyridines
Raw materials
Reduction
Scanning electron microscopy
Specific materials
Theory of reactions, general kinetics. Catalysis. Nomenclature, chemical documentation, computer chemistry
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Summary:Nitrogen doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNTs) with different nitrogen contents were synthesized as non-precious catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) through varying the relative amount of pyridine and ethanol in the stock solution. The structural and chemical properties of the N-CNTs were investigated using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The characterizations indicated that an increase in the pyridine to ethanol ratio of the stock solution produced N-CNTs with higher nitrogen contents. The electrocatalytic activity of N-CNTs towards ORR in alkaline conditions was evaluated using rotating ring disc electrode voltammetry which showed a positive correlation between nitrogen content and ORR activities. By combining the results of ORR activity and material characterization, it is concluded that an increase in the nitrogen content of N-CNTs can effectively improve the ORR activities.
ISSN:0008-6223
1873-3891
DOI:10.1016/j.carbon.2010.04.038