Urea treatment of nitrogen-doped carbon leads to enhanced performance for the oxygen reduction reaction

Ilnicka, Anna; Łukaszewicz, Jerzy P.; Shimanoe, Kengo; Yuasa, Masayoshi

doi:10.1557/jmr.2018.116

Cited by 24 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…With an increase in activation temperature, the surface area and total pore volume tended to increase. When comparing to the results reported by Ilnicka et al, 29 the synthesized NDCs exhibited a higher specific surface area and pore volume. In fact, although the type of chemical activator, the mixing method of the chemical activator with chitosan, and the chemical activation temperature in this study were completely different from methods reported in the literature, the result confirmed that the surface area and porosity of the chitosan-derived NDC had been successfully improved using our method.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 58%

“…It is general practice to activate the NDCs at temperatures less than 800°C to prevent nitrogen delamination at elevated temperatures. 28,29 However, as this study focuses on microstructure control as opposed to the nitrogen content, chemical activation was conducted at temperatures from 800 to 1050°C. We investigated the effect of the chemical activation temperature on the microstructure of chitosan-derived NDCs, and examined the relationship between the microstructure and GDE performance in alkaline solution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Chemical Activation of Nitrogen-doped Carbon Derived from Chitosan with ZnCl<sub>2</sub> to Produce a High-performance Gas Diffusion-type Oxygen Electrode

et al. 2021

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In this study, we fabricated nitrogen-doped carbons (NDCs) derived from chitosan using a new synthesis method that combines the thermal decomposition of chitosan and chemical activation with ZnCl 2 . Then, the effect of the activation temperature on the microstructure of NDCs was investigated. The performance of a gas diffusion-type oxygen electrode (GDE) using the obtained NDCs was evaluated using an oxygen reduction reaction in an alkaline solution. Finally, the relationship between the microstructure of NDCs and electrode performance was discussed. The surface area and total pore volume of the fabricated NDCs tended to increase with activation temperature, despite decreasing nitrogen content. Additionally, we found that the overpotential of GDE decreases with an increase in specific surface area and total pore volume. The microstructure of the NDCs was found to play a key role in improving the performance of GDEs. Furthermore, the GDE composed of fabricated NDCs with a high surface area and high pore volume exhibited a reduced activation overpotential than that of conventional Pt-loaded carbon black.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 58%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical Activation of Nitrogen-doped Carbon Derived from Chitosan with ZnCl<sub>2</sub> to Produce a High-performance Gas Diffusion-type Oxygen Electrode

et al. 2021

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“…In this case, graphene structures served as a matrix for the introduction of nitrogen, using the natural substrate Chlorella vurgalis as the source. As the literature reports, N-precursor is transformed into conductive carbon forms under the influence of high carbonization temperatures, 800–900 °C, which increase electrocatalytic properties 49 , 50 . The reference material in electrochemical tests was a carbon material based on platinum (20 wt%).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 87%

N-doped graphene foam obtained by microwave-assisted exfoliation of graphite

Skorupska

Ilnicka

Łukaszewicz

2021

Sci Rep

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The synthesis of metal-free but electrochemically active electrode materials, which could be an important contributor to environmental protection, is the key motivation for this research approach. The progress of graphene material science in recent decades has contributed to the further development of nanotechnology and material engineering. Due to the unique properties of graphene materials, they have found many practical applications: among others, as catalysts in metal-air batteries, supercapacitors, or fuel cells. In order to create an economical and efficient material for energy production and storage applications, researchers focused on the introduction of additional heteroatoms to the graphene structure. As solutions for functionalizing pristine graphene structures are very difficult to implement, this article presents a facile method of preparing nitrogen-doped graphene foam in a microwave reactor. The influence of solvent type and microwave reactor holding time was investigated. To characterize the elemental content and structural properties of the obtained N-doped graphene materials, methods such as elemental analysis, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy were used. Electrochemical activity in ORR of the obtained materials was tested using cyclic voltamperometry (CV) and linear sweep voltamperometry (LSV). The tests proved the materials’ high activity towards ORR, with the number of electrons reaching 3.46 for tested non-Pt materials, while the analogous value for the C-Pt (20 wt% loading) reference was 4.

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“…Further, an interconnected carbon structure can be seen, which indicates that urea played a signicant role in altering the morphology of those carbon materials. 22 Similarly, in the case of activation KOH alone, the resultant structure was disordered, whereas, with the participation of urea in the activation process, the resulting material displayed more interconnected surface structures.…”

Section: Characterization Of Activated Carbonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metal-free high-adsorption-capacity adsorbent derived from spent coffee grounds for methylene blue

2021

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Urea treatment of nitrogen-doped carbon leads to enhanced performance for the oxygen reduction reaction

Abstract: Abstract

Cited by 24 publications

References 55 publications

Chemical Activation of Nitrogen-doped Carbon Derived from Chitosan with ZnCl<sub>2</sub> to Produce a High-performance Gas Diffusion-type Oxygen Electrode

Chemical Activation of Nitrogen-doped Carbon Derived from Chitosan with ZnCl<sub>2</sub> to Produce a High-performance Gas Diffusion-type Oxygen Electrode

N-doped graphene foam obtained by microwave-assisted exfoliation of graphite

Metal-free high-adsorption-capacity adsorbent derived from spent coffee grounds for methylene blue

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