1. Holey nitrogen-doped multiwalled carbon nanotubes from extended air oxidation at low-temperature
- Author
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Emilio Muñoz-Sandoval, Florentino López-Urías, María Luisa García-Betancourt, Rosalba Fuentes-Ramírez, Rosario Galindo, and Juan L. Fajardo-Díaz
- Subjects
Thermal oxidation ,Thermogravimetric analysis ,Materials science ,Scanning electron microscope ,General Physics and Astronomy ,02 engineering and technology ,Surfaces and Interfaces ,General Chemistry ,Carbon nanotube ,010402 general chemistry ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,Condensed Matter Physics ,01 natural sciences ,0104 chemical sciences ,Surfaces, Coatings and Films ,law.invention ,symbols.namesake ,Chemical engineering ,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy ,law ,symbols ,Graphite ,Cyclic voltammetry ,0210 nano-technology ,Raman spectroscopy - Abstract
We investigated the effects of long-time thermal oxidation (LTO) of nitrogen-doped multiwalled carbon nanotubes (N-MWCNTs) at 330 °C in air. By scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetric analysis, Raman spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry we characterize the oxidized N-MWCNTs (Ox-NMWCNTs). SEM and TEM characterizations revealed that LTO promoted structural damages driven by Fe-based nanoparticles, producing holey N-MWCNTs. The XRD patterns showed that short times of oxidation process, encapsulated Fe3C, and α-Fe nanoparticles in N-MWCNTs cut or perforate their graphite layers. For LTO (>300 h), Fe3C and α-Fe nanoparticles are transformed into Fe3O2 (hematite structure). Deconvolution analysis of the (0 0 2) crystallographic planes allows us to monitor the graphitization evolution of the Ox-NMWCNTs. XPS characterization demonstrated that the surface composition of Ox-N-MWCNTs is influenced by the LTO, while carbon and nitrogen decrease in percentage, the oxygen increases. We have found that LTO favored the formation of pyrrolic nitrogen doping. The holey N-MWCNTs are a porous material with a moderate surface area. According to the voltammetry studies, when the Ox-N-MWCNTs are acid-treated, the surface area is doubled and presents a double layer capacitance that could be advantageous for energy applications.
- Published
- 2020
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