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Low‐Cost Chitosan‐Derived N‐Doped Carbons Boost Electrocatalytic Activity of Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes |
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| Authors: | Mo Qiao Seyyed Shayan Meysami Guillermo Alvarez Ferrero Fei Xie Han Meng Nicole Grobert Maria‐Magdalena Titirici |
| Affiliation: | 1. School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK;2. Department of Materials, Oxford University, Oxford, UK;3. Instituto Nacional del Carbon (CSIC), Oviedo, Spain;4. Williams Advanced Engineering, Grove, Oxfordshire, UK;5. Materials Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK |
| Abstract: | An effective strategy is proposed to enhance the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performance of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in both acid and alkaline electrolytes by coating them with a layer of biomass derivative N‐doped hydrothermal carbons. The N‐doped amorphous carbon coating plays triple roles: it (i) promotes the assembly of MWCNTs into a 3D network therefore improving the mass transfer and thus increasing the catalytic activity; (ii) protects the Fe‐containing active sites, present on the surface of the MWCNTs, from H2O2 poisoning; (iii) creates nitrogenated active sites and hence further enhances ORR activity and robustness. |
| Keywords: | hydrothermal carbonisation interface manipulation MWCNTs nanocomposites oxygen reduction reaction |