Nitrogen-promoted self-assembly of N-doped carbon nanotubes and their intrinsic catalysis for oxygen reduction in fuel cells.

Nitrogen atoms were found to exhibit a strong ability to promote the self-assembly of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) from gaseous carbons, without an assistance of metal atoms. On the basis of this discovery, pure metal-free CNTs with a nitrogen-doping level as high as 20 atom % can be directly synthesized using melamine as a C/N precursor. This offers a novel pathway for carbon nanotube synthesis. Furthermore, the metal-free and intact characteristics of the NCNT samples facilitate a clear verification of the intrinsic catalytic ability of NCNTs. The results show that the NCNTs intrinsically display excellent catalytic activity for oxygen reduction in fuel cells, comparable to traditional platinum-based catalysts. More notably, they exhibit outstanding stability, selectivity, and resistance to CO poisoning, much superior to the platinum-based catalysts.