E.A. Kiseleva1, N.E. Sadkovskaya2

1 Branch of the NRC «Kurchatov Institute» – PNPI – ISC (St. Petersburg, Russia)

2 Institute of Management, RANEPA (Moscow, Russia)

1 kanna787@mail.ru, 2 natsadkovskaya@rambler.ru

The application of electrochemical power sources and energy storage devices currently requires achieving high energy densities, low cost, high safety, and environmental friendliness. The aim of this work is to synthesize nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes using various methods, characterize them, and investigate their catalytic properties. Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes were synthesized using a chemical vapor deposition setup consisting of a Lindberg vacuum furnace equipped with a horizontal quartz tube running through it. A rotating ring-disk electrode setup was used for all electrochemical measurements. Background readings were obtained under nitrogen saturation, followed by oxygen reduction reaction measurements under oxygen saturation at rotation speeds of 100, 400, 900, and 1600 rpm. All electrochemical measurements were conducted at room temperature (22°C). The structural state of the nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube samples was characterized using Raman spectroscopy. To investigate the effect of increasing nitrogen content during synthesis, three precursor solutions containing nitrogen/carbon aliphatic diamines were used. The elemental composition of the synthesized products (ethylenediamine-derived, 1,3-diaminopropane-derived, and 1,4-diaminobutane-derived carbon nanotubes) was evaluated via XPS analysis, confirming the successful incorporation of nitrogen into all three nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube samples. Tables present detailed information on the three main peaks observed in the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectra. It is concluded that the increase in the intensity ratio of the two peaks is a direct result of nitrogen incorporation. Thus, it was concluded that the peaks observed at an energy of approximately 401.0 eV indicate the presence of both types of nitrogen; a shift of the peak toward lower binding energy indicates the predominance of pyrrolic nitrogen, whereas a shift toward higher binding energy indicates the predominance of quaternary nitrogen. Nitrogen-rich nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes are promising materials for use as electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction in fuel cells.

Kiseleva E.A., Sadkovskaya N.E. Composite cathodes for metal-air cells based on nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes // Nanotechnology development and applications-XXI Ce. 2026. V. 18. № 3. P. 67−73. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18127/j22250980-202603-06

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