RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 High oxygen reduction activity of few-walled carbon nanotubes with low nitrogen content
A1 Borghei, Maryam
A1 Kanninen, Petri
A1 Lundahl, Meri
A1 Susi, Toma
A1 Sainio, Jani
A1 Anoshkin, Ilya
A1 Nasibulin, Albert G.
A1 Kallio, Tanja
A1 Tammeveski, Kaido
A1 Kauppinen, Esko I.
A1 Ruiz Fernández, Virginia
K1 Nitrogen-doped
K1 Few-walled carbon nanotubes
K1 Oxygen reduction reaction
K1 Alkaline fuel cell
K1 Electrocatálisis
K1 Electrocatalysis
AB Nitrogen-containing few-walled carbon nanotubes (N-FWCNTs) with very low nitrogen content (0.56 at.%) were obtained by a process involving the coating of acid functionalized FWCNTs with polyaniline (PANI) followed by pyrolysis at high temperatures. The resulting N-FWCNTs exhibited a remarkable electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), despite significantly lower nitrogen content than previously reported in literature. The N-FWCNTs performed on par or better than Pt-C in the cathode of an alkaline direct methanol fuel cell, corroborating the ORR activity observed in the electrochemical cell and exhibiting a higher methanol tolerance. Interestingly, N-FWCNTs showed a high activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction and for the hydrogen peroxide decomposition, suggesting that the active sites involved in ORR can simultaneously catalyze other reactions. This unprecedentedly high activity for such a low N-content can be explained by the exceptional accessibility for the catalytic sites located in open and porous N-doped layer surrounding the FWCNT core, along with the minimization of inactive inner volume and mass compared to larger nitrogen doped multiwalled tubes.
PB Elsevier
SN 0926-3373
YR 2014
FD 2014-10
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11096
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11096
LA eng
NO The authors would like thank the following instances for funding: Academy of Finland (12263636). Aalto University Starting Grant and MIDE (GRACE) and Alfred Kordelin Foundation. This work made use of the Aalto University Nanomicroscopy Center (Aalto-NMC) premises. M.B. is also thankful to Dr. Ivar Kruusenberg for the kind help with experiments in the laboratory of Tartu University. We also acknowledge support by the Estonian Research Council (IUT20-16).
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Burgos
RD 05-may-2026