Preparation and adsorption property of novel inverse-opal hierarchical porous N-doped carbon microspheres

The design of pore structure is the key factor for the performance of porous carbon spheres.In this wo rk,novel micron-sized colloidal crystal microspheres consisting of fibrous silica(F-SiO_(2)) nanoparticles are firstly prepared by water-evapo ration-induced self-assembly of F-SiO_(2) nanoparticles in the droplets of an inverse emulsion system to be used as sacrificial templates.Acrylonitrile(AN) was infiltrated in the voids of the F-SiO_(2) colloidal crystal microspheres,and in-situ induced by ^(60)Co γ-ray to polymerize into polyacrylonitrile(PAN).After the PAN-infiltrated F-SiO_(2) colloidal crystal microspheres were carbonized and etched with HF solution,novel micron-sized inverse-opal N-doped carbon(IO-NC) microspheres consisting of hollow carbon nanoparticles with a hierarchical macro/meso-porous inner surface were obtained.The IO-NC microspheres have a specific surface area as high as 266.4 m^(2)/g and a molar ratio of C/N of 5.They have a good dispersibility in water,and show a high adsorption capacity towards rhodamine B(RhB) up to 137.28 mg/(g microsphe re).This work offers a way to obtain novel micron-sized hierarchical macro/meso-porous N-doped carbon microspheres,which opens a new idea to prepare high-performance hierarchical porous carbon materials.

VN nanoparticle-assembled hollow microspheres/N-doped carbon nanofibers:An anode material for superior potassium storage

Thanks to inexpensive and bountiful potassium resources,potassium ion batteries(PIBs)have come into the spotlight as viable alternatives for next-generation battery systems.However,poor electrochemical kinetics due to the large size of the K^(+) is a major challenge for PIB anodes.In this paper,an ingenious design of VN nanoparticleassembled hollow microspheres within N-containing intertwined carbon nanofibers(VN-NPs/N-CNFs)via an electrospinning process is reported.Employed as PIB anodes,VN-NPs/N-CNFs exhibit a superb rate property and prolonged cyclability,surpassing that of other reported metal nitride-based anodes.This is ascribed to:(i)the VN NP-assembled hollow microspheres,which shorten the K^(+) diffusion distance,and mitigate volume expansion;and(ii)the interconnected N-CNFs,which supply numerous active sites for K^(+) adsorption and facilitate rapid electron/ion transport.

N-doped porous carbon hollow microspheres encapsulated with iron-based nanocomposites as advanced bifunctional catalysts for rechargeable Zn-air battery

The design and development of low-cost,efficient,and stable bifunctional electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)and oxygen evolution reaction(OER)are desirable for rechargeable metal-air batteries.In this work,N-doped porous hollow carbon spheres encapsulated with ultrafine Fe/Fe3O4 nanoparticles(FeOx@N-PHCS)were fabricated by impregnation and subsequent pyrolysis,using melamine-formaldehyde resin spheres as self-sacrifice templates and polydopamine as N and C sources.The sufficient adsorption of Fe3+on the polydopamine endowed the formation of Fe-Nx species upon high-temperature carbonization.The prepared FeOx@N-PHCS has advanced features of large specific surface area,porous hollow structure,high content of N dopants,sufficient Fe-Nx species and ultrafine FeOx nanoparticles.These features endow FeOx@N-PHCS with enhanced mass transfer and considerable active sites,leading to high activity and stability in catalyzing ORR and OER in alkaline electrolyte.Furthermore,the rechargeable Zn-air battery with FeOx@N-PHCS as air cathode catalyst exhibits a large peak power density,narrow charge-discharge potential gap and robust cycling stability,demonstrating the potential of the fabricated FeOx@N-PHCS as a promising electrode material for metal-air batteries.This new finding may open an avenue for rational design of bifunctional catalysts by integrating different active components within all-in-one catalyst for different electrochemical reactions.

Nitrogen-doped lignin based carbon microspheres as anode material for high performance sodium ion batteries

Nitrogen-doped lignin-based carbon microspheres are synthesized using 3-aminophenol as a nitrogen source by the hydrothermal method.The structural change and the effect on the electrochemical properties are systematically investigated. Nitrogen-doped lignin-based carbon microspheres represent well-developed spherical morphology with many active sites, ultramicroporous(< 0.7 nm) structure, and large interlayer spacing. Consistent with the obtained physical structures and properties, the nitrogen-doped carbon microspheres exhibit fast sodium ion adsorption/intercalation kinetic process and excellent electrochemical performance. For example, a reversible specific capacity of 374 m Ah g^(-1) at 25 m A g^(-1) with high initial coulombic efficiency of 85% and high capacitance retention of 90% after 300 cycles at 100 m A g^(-1) and stable charge/discharge behavior at different current density is obtained. The additional defects and abundant ultramicroporous structure can enhance sloping capacity, and large interlayer spacing is considered to be the reason for improving plateau capacity.

High-efficiency sodium storage of Co_(0.85)Se/WSe_(2) encapsulated in N-doped carbon polyhedron via vacancy and heterojunction engineering

With the advantage of fast charge transfer,heterojunction engineering is identified as a viable method to reinforce the anodes'sodium storage performance.Also,vacancies can effectively strengthen the Na+adsorption ability and provide extra active sites for Na+adsorption.However,their synchronous engineering is rarely reported.Herein,a hybrid of Co_(0.85)Se/WSe_(2) heterostructure with Se vacancies and N-doped carbon polyhedron(CoWSe/NCP)has been fabricated for the first time via a hydrothermal and subsequent selenization strategy.Spherical aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy confirms the phase interface of the Co_(0.85)Se/WSe_(2) heterostructure and the existence of Se vacancies.Density functional theory simulations reveal the accelerated charge transfer and enhanced Na+adsorption ability,which are contributed by the Co_(0.85)Se/WSe_(2) heterostructure and Se vacancies,respectively.As expected,the CoWSe/NCP anode in sodium-ion battery achieves outstanding rate capability(339.6 mAh g^(−1) at 20 A g^(−1)),outperforming almost all Co/W-based selenides.

Template-Induced Graphitic Nanodomains in Nitrogen-Doped Carbons Enable High-Performance Sodium-Ion Capacitors

Sodium-ion capacitors(SICs)have great potential in energy storage due to their low cost,the abundance of Na,and the potential to deliver high energy and power simultaneously.This article demonstrates a template-assisted method to induce graphitic nanodomains and micro-mesopores into nitrogen-doped carbons.This study elucidates that these graphitic nanodomains are beneficial for Na+storage.The obtained N-doped carbon(As8Mg)electrode achieved a reversible capacity of 254 mA h g^(-1)at 0.1 A g^(-1).Moreover,the As8Mg-based SIC device achieves high combinations of power/energy densities(53 W kg^(-1)at 224 Wh kg^(-1)and 10410 W kg^(-1)at 51 Wh kg^(-1))with outstanding cycle stability(99.7%retention over 600 cycles at 0.2 A g^(-1)).Our findings provide insights into optimizing carbon’s microstructure to boost sodium storage in the pseudocapacitive mode.

The preparation and properties of N-doped carbon materials and their use for sodium storage

Defect engineering by heteroatom doping gives carbon materials some new characteristics such as a different electronic structure and a high electrochemical activity,making them suitable for high-performance applications.N-doping has been widely investigated because of its similar atom radius to carbon,high electronegativity as well as many different configurations.We summarize the preparation methods and properties of N-doped carbon materials,and discuss their possible use in sodium ion storage.The relationships between N content/configuration and crystallinity,electronic conductivity,wettability,chemical reactivity as well as sodium ion storage performance are discussed.

Enhanced stability of nitrogen-doped carbon-supported palladium catalyst for oxidative carbonylation of phenol

Enhancing the stability of supported noble metal catalysts emerges is a major challenge in both science and industry.Herein,a heterogeneous Pd catalyst(Pd/NCF)was prepared by supporting Pd ultrafine metal nanoparticles(NPs)on nitrogen-doped carbon;synthesized by using F127 as a stabilizer,as well as chitosan as a carbon and nitrogen source.The Pd/NCF catalyst was efficient and recyclable for oxidative carbonylation of phenol to diphenyl carbonate,exhibiting higher stability than Pd/NC prepared without F127 addition.The hydrogen bond between chitosan(CTS)and F127 was enhanced by F127,which anchored the N in the free amino group,increasing the N content of the carbon material and ensuring that the support could provide sufficient N sites for the deposition of Pd NPs.This process helped to improve metal dispersion.The increased metal-support interaction,which limits the leaching and coarsening of Pd NPs,improves the stability of the Pd/NCF catalyst.Furthermore,density functional theory calculations indicated that pyridine N stabilized the Pd^(2+)species,significantly inhibiting the loss of Pd^(2+)in Pd/NCF during the reaction process.This work provides a promising avenue towards enhancing the stability of nitrogen-doped carbon-supported metal catalysts.

Oxidation Evolution and Activity Origin of N-Doped Carbon in the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

N-doped carbon materials,with their applications as electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR),have been extensively studied.However,a negletcted fact is that the operating potential of the ORR is higher than the theoretical oxida-tion potential of carbon,possibly leading to the oxidation of carbon materials.Consequently,the infl uence of the structural oxidation evolution on ORR performance and the real active sites are not clear.In this study,we discover a two-step oxida-tion process of N-doped carbon during the ORR.The fi rst oxidation process is caused by the applied potential and bubbling oxygen during the ORR,leading to the oxidative dissolution of N and the formation of abundant oxygen-containing functional groups.This oxidation process also converts the reaction path from the four-electron(4e)ORR to the two-electron(2e)ORR.Subsequently,the enhanced 2e ORR generates oxidative H_(2)O_(2),which initiates the second stage of oxidation to some newly formed oxygen-containing functional groups,such as quinones to dicarboxyls,further diversifying the oxygen-containing functional groups and making carboxyl groups as the dominant species.We also reveal the synergistic eff ect of multiple oxygen-containing functional groups by providing additional opportunities to access active sites with optimized adsorption of OOH*,thus leading to high effi ciency and durability in electrocatalytic H_(2)O_(2) production.

Engineering single-atom Mn on nitrogen-doped carbon to regulate lithium-peroxide reaction kinetics for rechargeable lithium-oxygen batteries

Precision engineering of catalytic sites to guide more favorable pathways for Li_(2)O_(2) nucleation and decom-position represents an enticing kinetic strategy for mitigating overpotential,enhancing discharge capac-ity,and improving recycling stability of Li-O_(2) batteries.In this work,we employ metal-organic frameworks(MOFs)derivation and ion substitution strategies to construct atomically dispersed Mn-N_(4) moieties on hierarchical porous nitrogen-doped carbon(Mn SAs-NC)with the aim of reducing the over-potential and improving the cycling stability of Li-O_(2) batteries.The porous structure provides more chan-nels for mass transfer and exposes more highly active sites for electrocatalytic reactions,thus promoting the formation and decomposition of Li_(2)O_(2).The Li-O_(2) batteries with Mn SAs-NC cathode achieve lower overpotential,higher specific capacity(14290 mA h g^(-1) at 100 mAg^(-1)),and superior cycle stability(>100 cycles at 200 mA g^(-1))compared with the Mn NPs-NC and NC.Density functional theory(DFT)cal-culations reveal that the construction of Mn-N_(4) moiety tunes the charge distribution of the pyridinic N-rich vacancy and balances the affinity of the intermediates(LiO_(2) and Li_(2)O_(2)).The initial nucleation of Li_(2)O_(2) on Mn SAs-NC favors the O_(2)-→LiO_(2)→Li_(2)O_(2) surface-adsorption pathway,which mitigates the overpoten-tials of the oxygen reduction(ORR)and oxygen evolution reaction(OER).As a result,Mn SAs-NC with Mn-N_(4) moiety effectively facilitates the Li_(2)O_(2) nucleation and enables its reversible decomposition.This work establishes a methodology for constructing carbon-based electrocatalysts with high activity and selectivity for Li-O_(2)batteries.

Porous Microspheres Comprising CoSe2 Nanorods Coated with N-Doped Graphitic C and Polydopamine-Derived C as Anodes for Long-Lived Na-Ion Batteries

Metal–organic framework-templated nitrogen-doped graphitic carbon(NGC)and polydopaminederived carbon(PDA-derived C)-double coated one-dimensional CoSe_(2) nanorods supported highly porous threedimensional microspheres are introduced as anodes for excellent Na-ion batteries,particularly with long-lived cycle under carbonate-based electrolyte system.The microspheres uniformly composed of ZIF-67 polyhedrons and polystyrene nanobeads(φ=40 nm)are synthesized using the facile spray pyrolysis technique,followed by the selenization process(P-CoSe_(2)@NGC NR).Further,the PDA-derived C-coated microspheres are obtained using a solution-based coating approach and the subsequent carbonization process(P-CoSe_(2)@PDA-C NR).The rational synthesis approach benefited from the synergistic effects of dual carbon coating,resulting in a highly conductive and porous nanostructure that could facilitate rapid diffusion of charge species along with efficient electrolyte infiltration and effectively channelize the volume stress.Consequently,the prepared nanostructure exhibits extraordinary electrochemical performance,particularly the ultra-long cycle life stability.For instance,the advanced anode has a discharge capacity of 291(1000th cycle,average capacity decay of 0.017%)and 142 mAh g^(-1)(5000th cycle,average capacity decay of 0.011%)at a current density of 0.5 and 2.0 A g^(-1),respectively.

Direct synthesis of nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbons for acetylene hydrochlorination

Nitrogen‐doped ordered mesoporous carbon （N‐OMC） catalysts were directly synthesized using SBA‐15 as a hard template and sucrose as a carbon source. Urea, which was used as the nitrogen source, was carbonized with sucrose. A 3.6 wt% nitrogen doping of the carbon framework was achieved, with more than 70%of the nitrogen incorporated as quaternary nitrogen species. Only 0.2 wt% nitrogen doping, with only 32.7% quaternary nitrogen incorporation was obtained in an N‐OMC catalyst （N‐OMC‐T） prepared using a two‐step post‐synthesis method. The acetylene hy‐drochlorination activities of N‐OMC catalysts prepared via the one‐step method were higher than that of the N‐OMC‐T catalyst because of the higher nitrogen loadings.

N-doped ordered mesoporous carbon as a multifunctional support of ultrafine Pt nanoparticles for hydrogenation of nitroarenes

Due to the advantages of high surface areas, large pore volumes and pore sizes, abundant nitrogen content that favored the metal-support interactions, N-doped ordered mesoporous carbons are regarded as a kind of fascinating and potential support for the synthesis of effective supported cat-alysts. Here, a N-doped ordered mesoporous carbon with a high N content （9.58 wt%）, high surface area （417 m^2/g）, and three-dimensional cubic structure was synthesized successfully and used as an effective support for immobilizing Pt nanoparticles （NPs）. The positive effects of nitrogen on the metal particle size enabled ultrasmall Pt NPs （about 1.0 ± 0.5 nm） to be obtained. Moreover, most of the Pt NPs are homogeneously dispersed in the mesoporous channels. However, using the ordered mesoporous carbon without nitrogen as support, the particles were larger （4.4 ± 1.7 nm） and many Pt NPs were distributed on the external surface, demonstrating the important role of the nitrogen species. The obtained N-doped ordered mesoporous material supported catalyst showed excellent catalytic activity （conversion 100%） and selectivity （〉99%） in the hydrogenation of halogenated nitrobenzenes under mild conditions. These values are much higher than those achieved using a commercial Pt/C catalyst （conversion 89% and selectivity 90%）. This outstanding catalytic perfor-mance can be attributed to the synergetic effects of the mesoporous structure, N-functionalized support, and stabilized ultrasmall Pt NPs. Moreover, such supported catalyst also showed excellent catalytic performance in the hydrogenation of other halogenated nitrobenzenes and nitroarenes. In addition, the stability of the multifunctional catalyst was excellent and it could be reused more than 10 times without significant losses of activity and selectivity. Our results conclusively show that a N-doped carbon support enable the formation of ultrafine metal NPs and improve the reaction ac-tivity and selectivity.

Platanus orientalis leaves based hierarchical porous carbon microspheres as high efficiency adsorbents for organic dyes removal

Water contamination caused by hazardous organic dyes has drawn considerable attention, among all of the techniques released, adsorption has been widely used, which however to a large degree is dependent on the development of high efficiency adsorbents. Waste biomass based porous carbon is becoming the new star class of adsorbents, and thus contribute more to the sustainable development of the society. In this work, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, abundant waste fallen Platanus orientalis leaves are employed as the raw material for hierarchical activated porous carbon(APC) microspheres via a mild hydrothermal carbonization(210 ℃,12.0 h) followed by one-step calcination(750 ℃, 1.0 h). The APC microspheres exhibit a specific surface area of 1355.53 m^2·g^-1 and abundant functional groups such as O—H and C=O. Furthermore, the APC microspheres are used as the adsorbents for removal of Rh B and MO, with the maximum adsorption capabilities of 557.06 mg·g^-1 and 327.49 mg·g^-1, respectively, higher than those of the most porous carbon originated from biomass. The adsorption rates rapidly approach to 98.2%(RhB) and 95.4%(MO) within 10 min. The adsorption data can be well fitted by Langmuir isotherm model and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, meanwhile the intra-particle diffusion and Boyd models simultaneously indicate that the diffusion within the pores is the main rate-limiting step. Besides, the APC microspheres also demonstrate good recyclability, and may also be applied to other areas such as heterogeneous catalysis and energy storage.

Hollow Carbon Microspheres/MnO_2 Nanosheets Composites:Hydrothermal Synthesis and Electrochemical Behaviors

This article reported the electrochemical behaviors of a novel hollow carbon microspheres/manganese dioxide nanosheets(micro-HC/nano-MnO2) composite prepared by an in situ self-limiting deposition method under hydrothermal condition. The results of scanning electron microscopy reveal that MnO2 nanosheets homogeneously grow onto the surface of micro-HC to form a loose-packed microstructure. The quantity of MnO2 required in the electrode layer has thereby been reduced significantly, and higher specific capacitances have been achieved. The micro-HC/nano-MnO2 electrode presents a high capacitance of 239.0 F g-1 at a current density of 5 m A cm-2, which is a strong promise for high-rate electrochemical capacitive energy storage applications.

N-doped porous carbon nanofibers sheathed pumpkin-like Si/C composites as free-standing anodes for lithium-ion batteries

Dramatic capacity fading and poor rate performance are two main obstacles that severely hamper the widespread application of the Si anode owing to its large volume variation during cycling and low intrinsic electrical conductivity.To mitigate these issues,free-standing N-doped porous carbon nanofibers sheathed pumpkin-like Si/C composites(Si/C-ZIF-8/CNFs)are designed and synthesized by electrospinning and carbonization methods,which present greatly enhanced electrochemical properties for lithium-ion battery anodes.This particular structure alleviates the volume variation,promotes the formation of stable solid electrolyte interphase(SEI)film,and improves the electrical conductivity.As a result,the as-obtained free-standing Si/C-ZIF-8/CNFs electrode delivers a high reversible capacity of 945.5 mAh g^(-1) at 0.2 A g^(-1) with a capacity retention of 64% for 150 cycles,and exhibits a reversible capacity of 538.6 mA h g^(-1) at 0.5 A g^(-1) over 500 cycles.Moreover,the full cell composed of a freestanding Si/C-ZIF-8/CNFs anode and commercial LiNi_(1/3)Co_(1/3)Mn_(1/3)O_(2)(NCM)cathode shows a capacity of 63.4 mA h g^(-1) after 100 cycles at 0.2 C,which corresponds to a capacity retention of 60%.This rational design could provide a new path for the development of high-performance Si-based anodes.

From Jackfruit Rags to Hierarchical Porous N-Doped Carbon: A High-Performance Anode Material for Sodium-Ion Batteries

Renewable biomass-derived carbon materials have attracted increasing research attention as promising electrode materials for electrochemical energy storage devices, such as sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), due to their outstanding electrical conductivity, hierarchical porous structure, intrinsic heteroatom doping, and environmental friendliness. Here, we investigate the potential of hierarchical N-doped porous carbon (NPC) derived from jackfruit rags through a facile pyrolysis as an anode material for SIBs. The cycling performance of NPC at 1 A/g for 2000 cycles featured a stable reversible capacity of 122.3 mA h/g with an outstanding capacity retention of 99.1%. These excellent electrochemical properties can be attributed to the unique structure of NPC;it features hierarchical porosity with abundant carbon edge defects and large speci c surface areas. These results illuminate the potential application of jackfruit rags-derived porous carbon in SIBs.

Nitrogen-doped Carbon Nanospheres-Modified Graphitic Carbon Nitride with Outstanding Photocatalytic Activity

Metals and metal oxides are widely used as photo/electro-catalysts for environmental remediation.However,there are many issues related to these metal-based catalysts for practical applications,such as high cost and detrimental environmental impact due to metal leaching.Carbon-based catalysts have the potential to overcome these limitations.In this study,monodisperse nitrogen-doped carbon nanospheres(NCs)were synthesized and loaded onto graphitic carbon nitride(g-C3N4,GCN)via a facile hydrothermal method for photocatalytic removal of sulfachloropyridazine(SCP).The prepared metal-free GCN-NC exhibited remarkably enhanced efficiency in SCP degradation.The nitrogen content in NC critically influences the physicochemical properties and performances of the resultant hybrids.The optimum nitrogen doping concentration was identified at 6.0 wt%.The SCP removal rates can be improved by a factor of 4.7 and 3.2,under UV and visible lights,by the GCN-NC composite due to the enhanced charge mobility and visible light harvesting.The mechanism of the improved photocatalytic performance and band structure alternation were further investigated by density functional theory(DFT)calculations.The DFT results confirm the high capability of the GCN-NC hybrids to activate the electron–hole pairs by reducing the band gap energy and efficiently separating electron/hole pairs.Superoxide and hydroxyl radicals are subsequently produced,leading to the efficient SCP removal.

Facile synthesis of Mo2C nanoparticles on N-doped carbon nanotubes with enhanced electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution and oxygen reduction reactions

Developing low-cost and highly-efficient electrocatalysts for renewable energy conversion technologies has attracted even-increasing attention. Molybdenum carbide materials have recently emerged as a type of promising catalysts for electrocatalytic reactions due to the earth-abundance and Pt-resembled electrical properties. In this work, taking the advantage of the interaction between the basic groups of the Mo(VI)-melamine polymer and the acidic groups on the surface of the oxidized carbon nanotubes(CNTs), N-doped CNTs supported Mo2C nanoparticles(Mo2C/NCNT) are prepared, which exhibit outstanding electrocatalytic activity and durability for both the hydrogen evolution and oxygen reduction reactions. The impressive performance of Mo2C/NCNT can be attributed to the small size of Mo2C particles, the large exposure ratio of surface sites and the presence of N-doped CNTs. This work enlarges the multi-field applications of molybdenum carbide-base materials as promising non-precious metal electrocatalysts, which is of great significance for sustainable energy-related technologies.

Nitrogen-Doped Carbon-Encased Bimetallic Selenide for High-Performance Water Electrolysis

Demand of highly efficient earth-abundant transition metal-based electrocatalysts to replace noble metal materials for boosting oxygen evolution reaction(OER)is rapidly growing.Herein,an electrochemically exfoliated graphite(EG)foil supported bimetallic selenide encased in N-doped carbon(EG/(Co,Ni)Se2-NC)hybrid is developed and synthesized by a vapor-phase hydrothermal strategy and subsequent selenization process.The as-prepared EG/(Co,Ni)Se2-NC hybrid exhibits a core-shell structure where the particle diameter of(Co,Ni)Se2 core is about 70 nm and the thickness of N-doped carbon shell is approximately 5 nm.Benefitting from the synergistic effects between the combination of highly active Co species and improved electron transfer from Ni species,and N-doped carbon,the EG/(Co,Ni)Se2-NC hybrid shows remarkable electrocatalytic activity toward OER with a comparatively low overpotential of 258 mV at an current density of 10 mA cm?2 and a small Tafel slope of 73.3 mV dec?1.The excellent OER catalysis performance of EG/(Co,Ni)Se2-NC hybrid is much better than that of commercial Ir/C(343 mV at 10 mA cm?2 and 98.1 mV dec?1),and even almost the best among all previously reported binary CoNi selenide-based OER electrocatalysts.Furthermore,in situ electrochemical Raman spectroscopy combined with ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis indicates that the superb OER catalysis activity can be attributed to the highly active Co-OOH species and modified electron transfer process from Ni element.