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Updated: Jan 30, 2026

Synthesis and Functionalization of Nitrogen-doped Carbon Nanotube Cups with Gold Nanoparticles as Cork Stoppers
Published on: May 13, 2013
A Highly Nanoporous Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Microfiber Derived from Bioresource as a New Kind of ORR Electrocatalyst
Chaozhong Guo1, Yanrong Li2, Ya Xu3
1Research Institute for New Materials Technology, School of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Engineering Research Center of New Energy Storage Devices and Applications, Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences, Chongqing, 402160, China. guochaozhong1987@163.com.
Abstract:
Synthesis of metal-free carbon-based electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) to replace the conventional platinum-based catalysts has currently become a hot topic of research. This work proposes an activation-assisted carbonization strategy for the fabrication of nitrogen-doped nanoporous carbon microfibers (Me-CFZ-900) with a high BET surface area (~ 929.4 m2 g-1) via using melamine as a promoter/nitrogen source and bamboo-carbon biowastes as the carbon source with the help of a zinc chloride activator. Electrochemical tests showed that the Me-CFZ-900 material has exhibited excellent ORR electrocatalytic activity and long-term stability, and also displayed a quasi-four-electron ORR pathway in alkaline electrolyte. We also find that the graphitic-N may be the catalytically active site for the ORR, but the formation of planar-N can further help to promote the ORR activity for our catalysts. The results open a new space and provide a new idea to prepare valuable porous nanocarbon materials on the basis of carbonaceous solid wastes for catalysis of a wide range of electrochemical reactions in the future.
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