Wall‐ and Hybridisation‐Selective Synthesis of Nitrogen‐Doped Double‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Controlled nitrogen‐doping is a powerful methodology to modify the properties of carbon nanostructures and produce functional materials for electrocatalysis, energy conversion and storage, and sensing, among others. Herein, we report a wall‐ and hybridisation‐selective synthetic methodology to produce double‐walled carbon nanotubes with an inner tube doped exclusively with graphitic sp²‐nitrogen atoms. Our measurements shed light on the fundamental properties of nitrogen‐doped nanocarbons opening the door for developing their potential applications.     

Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Nanotube Arrays for High‐Efficiency Electrochemical Reduction of CO2: On the Understanding of Defects,Defect Density,and Selectivity

Nitrogen‐doped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) have been considered as a promising electrocatalyst for carbon‐dioxide‐reduction reactions, but two fundamental chemistry questions remain obscure: 1) What are the active centers with respect to various defect species and 2) what is the role of defect density on the selectivity of NCNTs? The aim of this work is to address these questions. The catalytic activity of NCNTs depends on the structural nature of nitrogen in CNTs and defect density. Comparing with pristine CNTs, the presence of graphitic and pyridinic nitrogen significantly decreases the overpotential (ca. −0.18 V) and increases the selectivity (ca. 80 %) towards the formation of CO. The experimental results are in congruent with DFT calculations, which show that pyridinic defects retain a lone pair of electrons that are capable of binding CO₂. However, for graphitic‐like nitrogen, electrons are located in the π* antibonding orbital, making them less accessible for CO₂ binding.     

Electrocatalytic Synthesis of Ammonia at Room Temperature and Atmospheric Pressure from Water and Nitrogen on a Carbon‐Nanotube‐Based Electrocatalyst

Ammonia is synthesized directly from water and N₂ at room temperature and atmospheric pressure in a flow electrochemical cell operating in gas phase (half‐cell for the NH₃ synthesis). Iron supported on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was used as the electrocatalyst in this half‐cell. A rate of ammonia formation of 2.2×10⁻³ g m⁻² h⁻¹ was obtained at room temperature and atmospheric pressure in a flow of N₂, with stable behavior for at least 60 h of reaction, under an applied potential of −2.0 V. This value is higher than the rate of ammonia formation obtained using noble metals (Ru/C) under comparable reaction conditions. Furthermore, hydrogen gas with a total Faraday efficiency as high as 95.1 % was obtained. Data also indicate that the active sites in NH₃ electrocatalytic synthesis may be associated to specific carbon sites formed at the interface between iron particles and CNT and able to activate N₂, making it more reactive towards hydrogenation.     

Hybrid Fibers Made of Molybdenum Disulfide,Reduced Graphene Oxide,and Multi‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Solid‐State,Flexible, Asymmetric Supercapacitors

One of challenges existing in fiber‐based supercapacitors is how to achieve high energy density without compromising their rate stability. Owing to their unique physical, electronic, and electrochemical properties, two‐dimensional (2D) nanomaterials, e.g., molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) and graphene, have attracted increasing research interest and been utilized as electrode materials in energy‐related applications. Herein, by incorporating MoS₂ and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets into a well‐aligned multi‐walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) sheet followed by twisting, MoS₂‐rGO/MWCNT and rGO/MWCNT fibers are fabricated, which can be used as the anode and cathode, respectively, for solid‐state, flexible, asymmetric supercapacitors. This fiber‐based asymmetric supercapacitor can operate in a wide potential window of 1.4 V with high Coulombic efficiency, good rate and cycling stability, and improved energy density.