Issue 34, 2016

Nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon nanosheet/carbon nanotube hybrids as metal-free bi-functional electrocatalysts for water oxidation and oxygen reduction

Abstract

The development of metal-free catalysts for efficient catalysis of both the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is extremely desirable in energy technologies. Herein, nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon nanosheet/carbon nanotube (CNT) hybrids have been synthesized by the pyrolysis of glucose, urea and CNTs. Impressively, in 0.1 M KOH, the resulting hybrids afford remarkable OER activities with a low onset potential (1.50 V vs. RHE) and an exceptional over-potential (only 320 mV at 10 mA cm−2). Moreover, the same hybrids show comparable catalytic performance but better durability compared to the benchmark Pt/C (20 wt%) catalyst for ORR. The achieved ultrahigh catalytic performance of the hybrids originates from their large specific surface area (594.1 m2 g−1), high content percentage of N doping (8.5 wt%), and mesoporous structure, which leads to fully exposed active sites, improved mass/electron transport capability, easy adsorption/release of oxygen gas bubbles, and high structural stability. This work also provides a novel concept for fabricating heteroatom doped porous carbonaceous materials with integrated and improved catalytic performance for advanced applications.

Graphical abstract: Nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon nanosheet/carbon nanotube hybrids as metal-free bi-functional electrocatalysts for water oxidation and oxygen reduction

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 May 2016
Accepted
21 Jul 2016
First published
22 Jul 2016

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2016,4, 13133-13141

Nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon nanosheet/carbon nanotube hybrids as metal-free bi-functional electrocatalysts for water oxidation and oxygen reduction

X. Li, Y. Fang, S. Zhao, J. Wu, F. Li, M. Tian, X. Long, J. Jin and J. Ma, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2016, 4, 13133 DOI: 10.1039/C6TA04187F

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