2 research outputs found
Salt-Induced Phase Separation to Synthesize Ordered Mesoporous Carbon by pH-Controlled Self-Assembly
Self-assemly of block
copolymers (BCPs) and phenolic resin (PR)
is an important method to prepare ordered mesoporous polymers (OMPs)
and carbon materials (OMCs). In the process, phase separation of the
BCP–PR composite is a critical step which is, however, time-consuming
in aqueous solution. Here we report, for the first time, a new salt-induced
phase separation strategy to achieve this goal. Triblock copolymer
F127 and phenol-formaldehyde resin (PF) are used as the template and
precursor, respectively, and sodium chloride (NaCl) is applied to
induce the coagulation and phase separation of the F127–PF
composite which is transformed to be OMC at high temperature. It is
found that the maintenance of the ordered mesostructure is highly
dependent on the pH of the F127–PF solution under NaCl interference.
A hypothetical mechanism is proposed to explain the role of pH in
the formation of ordered mesostructure when salt is introduced into
the self-assembly system. The effects of pH, salt concentration, and
varied salts on the structures and properties of the as-prepared OMCs
are investigated in detail. The new salt-induced phase separation
strategy can synthesize OMC facilely and can provide a new insight
into understanding the process of preparing ordered mesoporous materials
by self-assembly more deeply
Direct Synthesis of Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanosheets with High Surface Area and Excellent Oxygen Reduction Performance
Graphene-like nitrogen-doped carbon
nanosheets (NCN) have become a fascinating carbon-based material for
advanced energy storage and conversion devices, but its easy, cheap,
and environmentally friendly synthesis is still a grand challenge.
Herein we directly synthesized porous NCN material via the facile
pyrolysis of chitosan and urea without the requirement of any catalyst
or post-treatment. As-prepared material exhibits a very large BET
surface area of ∼1510 m<sup>2</sup> g<sup>–1</sup> and
a high ratio of graphitic/pyridinic nitrogen structure (2.69 at. %
graphitic N and 1.20 at. % pyridinic N). Moreover, compared to a commercial
Pt/C catalyst, NCN displays excellent electrocatalytic activity, better
long-term stability, and methanol tolerance ability toward the oxygen
reduction reaction, indicating a promising metal-free alternative
to Pt-based cathode catalysts in alkaline fuel cells. This scalable
fabrication method supplies a low-cost, high-efficiency metal-free
oxygen reduction electrocatalyst and also suggests an economic and
sustainable route from biomass-based molecules to value-added nanocarbon
materials