Li He, Tang Karen Yuanting, Yao Dingding, Ye Enyi, Wang Chi-Hwa
NUS Environmental Research Institute (NERI), National University of Singapore, Singapore 138602, Singapore.
Energy and Environmental Sustainability Solutions for Megacities (E2S2), Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore 138602, Singapore.
ACS Omega. 2023 Oct 25;8(44):41586-41594. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.3c05708. eCollection 2023 Nov 7.
The global spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has led to a widespread surge in the use of disposable medical face masks (DFMs) and waste nitrile gloves (WNGs). To address the immense disruption in waste management systems, the catalytic pyrolysis of DFMs and WNGs was undertaken to yield multiwalled carbon nanotubes. Two MgO-supported bimetallic catalysts, Fe-Co and Fe-Ni, were synthesized for catalytic pyrolysis. The MgO-supported Fe and Co catalysts showed a good yield of N-doped CNTs (N-CNTs) above 33 wt %, while the percentage of WNGs did not exceed 20 wt %. The pyrolysis process resulted in the formation of Fe-Co microspinels, which were subsequently encapsulated within N-CNTs, ultimately yielding FeCo-NCNTs. The synthesized FeCo-NCNTs were approximately 25 nm in diameter and were extended over several micrometers in length. Subsequent evaluations included testing several acid-washed FeCo-NCNTs as catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction. The FeCo-NCNTs exhibited remarkable catalytic performance, with a half-wave potential at 0.831 V (vs RHE) and exceptional resistance to methanol poisoning. These remarkable findings have the potential to contribute to the sustainable recycling of waste generated during the COVID-19 pandemic and to the utilization of waste-derived materials.
严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2的全球传播导致一次性医用口罩（DFM）和废弃丁腈手套（WNG）的使用大幅激增。为应对废物管理系统的巨大破坏，对DFM和WNG进行了催化热解以生产多壁碳纳米管。合成了两种氧化镁负载的双金属催化剂Fe-Co和Fe-Ni用于催化热解。氧化镁负载的Fe和Co催化剂显示出高于33 wt%的氮掺杂碳纳米管（N-CNT）的良好产率，而WNG的比例不超过20 wt%。热解过程导致形成Fe-Co微尖晶石，其随后被包裹在N-CNT内，最终得到FeCo-NCNT。合成的FeCo-NCNT直径约为25 nm，长度延伸超过几微米。随后的评估包括测试几种酸洗的FeCo-NCNT作为氧还原反应的催化剂。FeCo-NCNT表现出卓越的催化性能，半波电位为0.831 V（相对于可逆氢电极），并且对甲醇中毒具有出色的抗性。这些显著发现有可能促进COVID-19大流行期间产生的废物的可持续回收利用以及废物衍生材料的利用。
