Nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon nanospheres for highly efficient oxidation of ethylbenzene

Abstract

Nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon nanospheres (NS-CNs) have been found to have broad applications in a large variety of areas due to their well tailored physicochemical properties. To achieve an efficient co-doping effect, the synthesis protocols usually rely on a stepwise procedure, which particularly includes a post treatment of the N-doped precursors by using a sulfur-containing material such as H₂S and thiourea, thereby making the process time-consuming and complicated in terms of doping control. Here, we demonstrate an effective synthesis strategy to achieve a designated co-doping effect of carbon nanospheres through a molecular design of the precursors used for the formation of carbon nanospheres. Specifically, we identified an efficient co-polymerization process of both diaminobenzenesulfonic acid and melamine with formaldehyde, which gives uniform resin nanospheres at room temperature with both N and S inherited from the two reactants. After a carbonization process, carbon nanospheres were achieved with co-doped elements favorable for their applications. For example, a high performance catalyst was demonstrated from this synthesis protocol with promising potential for catalytic ethylbenzene oxidation.