Issue 12, 2021

Facile synthesis of CNT interconnected PVP-ZIF-8 derived hierarchically porous Zn/N co-doped carbon frameworks for oxygen reduction

Abstract

In this work, a strategy has been adopted to construct an architecture through the coordination of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and a monodisperse zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8), which was entwined by carbon nanotubes (CNTs) firstly, followed by a pyrolysis process to obtain the hybrid catalyst. The meticulous design of the hybrid material using CNTs to interconnect the PVP assisted ZIF-8 derived porous carbon frameworks together produces a hierarchical pore structure and dual-heteroatom (Zn/N) doping (Zn–N/PC@CNT). Without further acid treatment, the hybrid material prepared after pyrolysis at 900 °C (PVP-ZIF-8@CNT-900) has been demonstrated as an efficient non-precious metal catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) with its superior stability compared to the commercial 20 wt% Pt/C catalyst in alkaline media. The catalyst shows better performance towards the ORR, with its more positive onset and half-wave potentials (Eonset = 0.960 V vs. RHE and E1/2 = 0.795 V vs. RHE) than the counterpart system which is free of both CNT and PVP. The high performance of the hybrid catalyst can be ascribed to the co-existence of dual-active sites with hierarchical pore structures originating from the synergistic effects between Zn/N co-doped porous carbon and CNTs. We further demonstrated the single-cell performance by using the homemade system as the cathode catalyst for the Alkaline Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (AEMFC) system, which showed a maximum power density of 45 mW cm−2 compared to 60 mW cm−2 obtained from the 40 wt% Pt/C catalyst.

Graphical abstract: Facile synthesis of CNT interconnected PVP-ZIF-8 derived hierarchically porous Zn/N co-doped carbon frameworks for oxygen reduction

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
28 Жел. 2020
Accepted
26 Ақп. 2021
First published
26 Ақп. 2021

Nanoscale, 2021,13, 6248-6258

Facile synthesis of CNT interconnected PVP-ZIF-8 derived hierarchically porous Zn/N co-doped carbon frameworks for oxygen reduction

G. Singla, S. N. Bhange, M. Mahajan and S. Kurungot, Nanoscale, 2021, 13, 6248 DOI: 10.1039/D0NR09156A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements