Issue 18, 2015

Iron and nitrogen co-doped carbon nanotube@hollow carbon fibers derived from plant biomass as efficient catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction

Abstract

The present paper reports on the preparation of novel iron and nitrogen co-doped carbon nanotube@hollow carbon fibers (denoted as Fe/N/CNT@PCFs) by pyrolysis of the natural product catkin, FeCl3 and melamine. The experimental results show that: (1) melamine and FeCl3 doped into precursors have hugely enhanced the content of doped nitrogen in Fe/N/CNT@PCFs; (2) Fe elements have catalyzed the growth of abundant CNTs along both the inner and outer walls of Fe/N/CNT@PCFs affording abundant porous structures and a larger BET specific surface area; (3) Fe elements have also facilitated the transformation of inactive oxidized N species to the highly active pyridinic-N, pyrrolic-N, and Fe–N clusters for Fe/N/CNT@PCFs, thereby improving the ORR electro-catalytic activity of the as-prepared Fe/N/CNT@PCF catalyst. On the other hand, the typical RDE and RRDE detection results have proved that the ORR catalyzed by the as-prepared Fe/N/CNT@PCF catalyst is mainly by 4e reduction accompanying higher durability of the ORR electro-catalytic activity and more excellent methanol tolerance compared with the commercial Pt/C catalyst. The relatively simple synthesis approach, the cheap precursor materials, and excellent ORR catalytic efficiency of the Fe/N/CNT@PCF catalyst make it promising for low-temperature fuel cells.

Graphical abstract: Iron and nitrogen co-doped carbon nanotube@hollow carbon fibers derived from plant biomass as efficient catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
05 Feb 2015
Accepted
22 Mar 2015
First published
24 Mar 2015

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2015,3, 9658-9667

Iron and nitrogen co-doped carbon nanotube@hollow carbon fibers derived from plant biomass as efficient catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction

M. Li, Y. Xiong, X. Liu, C. Han, Y. Zhang, X. Bo and L. Guo, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2015, 3, 9658 DOI: 10.1039/C5TA00958H

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