One-step chemical vapor deposition synthesis and supercapacitor performance of nitrogen-doped porous carbon–carbon nanotube hybrids

Egor V Lobiak (1) , Lyubov G Bulusheva (2, 1) , Ekaterina O Fedorovskaya (2, 1) , Yury V Shubin (2, 1) , Pavel E Plyusnin (2, 1) , Pierre Lonchambon (3) , Boris V Senkovskiy (4, 5) , Zinfer R Ismagilov (6) , Emmanuel Flahaut (3) , Alexander V Okotrub (2, 1)

1 NIC - Nikolaev Institute of Inorganic Chemistry [Novosibirsk]
2 NSU - Novosibirsk State University
3 CIRIMAT - Centre interuniversitaire de recherche et d'ingenierie des matériaux
4 SPBU - Saint Petersburg University
5 Universität zu Köln = University of Cologne
6 Boreskov Institute of Catalysis

Novel nitrogen-doped carbon hybrid materials consisting of multiwalled nanotubes and porous graphitic layers have been produced by chemical vapor deposition over magnesium-oxide-supported metal catalysts. CNx nanotubes were grown on Co/Mo, Ni/Mo, or Fe/Mo alloy nanoparticles, and MgO grains served as a template for the porous carbon. The simultaneous formation of morphologically different carbon structures was due to the slow activation of catalysts for the nanotube growth in a carbon-containing gas environment. An analysis of the obtained products by means of transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy methods revealed that the catalyst's composition influences the nanotube/porous carbon ratio and concentration of incorporated nitrogen. The hybrid materials were tested as electrodes in a 1M H2SO4 electrolyte and the best performance was found for a nitrogen-enriched material produced using the Fe/Mo catalyst. From the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy data, it was concluded that the nitrogen doping reduces the resistance at the carbon surface/electrolyte interface and the nanotubes permeating the porous carbon provide fast charge transport in the cell.

Mots clés: Bimetallic catalyst; Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy; N-doped carbon; Porous carbon–carbon nanotube hybrid; Supercapacitor

Domaines: Matériaux; Matériaux; Micro et nanotechnologies/Microélectronique

Egor V Lobiak, Lyubov G Bulusheva, Ekaterina O Fedorovskaya, Yury V Shubin, Pavel E Plyusnin, et al.. One-step chemical vapor deposition synthesis and supercapacitor performance of nitrogen-doped porous carbon–carbon nanotube hybrids. Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology, 2017, 8, pp.2669-2679. ⟨10.3762/bjnano.8.267⟩. ⟨hal-01729379⟩