Toward understanding the active site for oxygen reduction reaction on phosphorus-encapsulated single-walled carbon nanotubes

Abstract

Positively-charged single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) induced by physically encapsulated phosphorus demonstrate a little-promoted oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalytic activity as compared with the empty SWNTs, including ORR current once increased at low potential and bare ORR-overpotential improvement. It implied that the substitutional doped P in hexagonal carbon framework should be the active center responsible for the excellent ORR activity concerning the P-doped carbon nanostructures reported recently.