Bamboo‐Like Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Nanotubes with Co Nanoparticles Encapsulated at the Tips: Uniform and Large‐Scale Synthesis and High‐Performance Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction |
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| Authors: | Tai Cao Dingsheng Wang Jiatao Zhang Chuanbao Cao Yadong Li |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Tai Cao, Prof. J. Zhang, Prof. C. Cao, Research Centre of Materials Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081 (P.R. China);2. Tai Cao, Dr. D. Wang, Prof. Y. Li, Department of Chemistry and Collaborative Innovation Center for Nanomaterial Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 (P.R. China) |
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| Abstract: | In recent years, various non‐precious metal electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) have been extensively investigated. The development of an efficient and simple method to synthesize non‐precious metal catalysts with ORR activity superior to that of Pt is extremely significant for large‐scale applications of fuel cells. Here, we develop a facile, low‐cost, and large‐scale synthesis method for uniform nitrogen‐doped (N‐doped) bamboo‐like CNTs (NBCNT) with Co nanoparticles encapsulated at the tips by annealing a mixture of cobalt acetate and melamine. The uniform NBCNT shows better ORR catalytic activity and higher stability in alkaline solutions as compared with commercial Pt/C and comparable catalytic activity to Pt/C in acidic media. NBCNTs exhibit outstanding ORR catalytic activity due to high defect density, uniform bamboo‐like structure, and the synergistic effect between the Co nanoparticles and protective graphitic layers. This facile method to synthesize catalysts, which is amenable to the large‐scale commercialization of fuel cells, will open a new avenue for the development of low‐cost and high‐performance ORR catalysts to replace Pt‐based catalysts for applications in energy conversion. |
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| Keywords: | doping nanotubes nitrogen oxygen reduction transition metals |
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