학술논문
Structural analysis and oxygen reduction reaction activity in bamboo-like nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes containing localized nitrogen in nodal regions.
Document Type
Article
Author
Source
Subject
*CARBON nanotubes
*MOLECULAR structure
*OXYGEN reduction
*NITROGEN spectra
*NODAL planes
*CHEMICAL vapor deposition
*TRANSMISSION electron microscopy
*ELECTRON energy loss spectroscopy
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Language
ISSN
0008-6223
Abstract
Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNTs) act as a metal-free catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), but improving the ORR activity of N-CNTs remains challenging due to a lack of structural information. The N-CNTs with higher nitrogen concentration (an average surface nitrogen concentrations, 14.3 at.%) than the N-CNTs fabricated by conventional chemical vapor deposition method were synthesized using a dielectric barrier discharge in high pressure nitrogen and the spatial distribution of nitrogen in the N-CNTs was demonstrated by transmission electron microscopy in conjunction with electron energy loss spectroscopy. Nitrogen atoms were found to be concentrated at nodal regions in the bamboo-like structure, at concentrations above 23 at.%. At the point of the ORR, the highest onset potential was observed in the N-CNTs due to relatively highly incorporated pyridine-like nitrogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]