title: Nitrogen-promoted self-assembly of N-doped carbon nanotubes and their intrinsic catalysis for oxygen reduction in fuel cells.
abstract: Nitrogen atoms were found to exhibit a strong ability to promote the self-assembly of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) from gaseous carbons, without an assistance of metal atoms. On the basis of this discovery, pure metal-free CNTs with a nitrogen-doping level as high as 20 atom % can be directly synthesized using melamine as a C/N precursor. This offers a novel pathway for carbon nanotube synthesis. Furthermore, the metal-free and intact characteristics of the NCNT samples facilitate a clear verification of the intrinsic catalytic ability of NCNTs. The results show that the NCNTs intrinsically display excellent catalytic activity for oxygen reduction in fuel cells, comparable to traditional platinum-based catalysts. More notably, they exhibit outstanding stability, selectivity, and resistance to CO poisoning, much superior to the platinum-based catalysts.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Coal Conversion, Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Taiyuan 030001, China.
authors.forename: Zhijian
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Rongrong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: Jianfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Jianghong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jinling
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Zhenping
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry*; D012666:Semiconductors; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D009584:Nitrogen; D010100:Oxygen