One-step hydrothermal synthesis of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes as an efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reactions

A high amount of heteroatom doping in carbon, although favorable for enhanced density of catalytically active sites, may lead to substantially decreased electroconductivity, which is necessary for the electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction. Herein, a relatively low amount of nitrogen was successfully doped into carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by a hydrothermal approach in one step, and the synthesized nitrogen-doped CNT (CNT-N) materials retained most of the original, excellent characteristics, such as the graphitic structure, tubular morphology, and high surface area, of CNTs. The resultant CNT-N materials, although containing a relatively low amount of nitrogen doping, exhibited high electrocatalytic ORR activity, comparable to that of 20 wt% Pt/C; long durability; and, more importantly, largely inhibited methanol crossover effect.