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Two-dimensional Nitrogen-doped Mesoporous Carbon/Graphene Nanocomposites from the Self-assembly of Block Copolymer Micelles in Solution

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Abstract

The self-assembly of block copolymer in solution has proven to be an effective strategy for building up a wide range of nanomaterials with diverse structures and applications. This paper reports a facile self-assembly approach towards two-dimensional (2D) sandwich-like mesoporous nitrogen-doped carbon/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites (denoted as mNC/rGO) with well-defined large mesopores. The strategy involves the synergistic self-assembly of polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PEO) spherical micelles, m-phenylenediamine (mPD) monomers and GO in solution and the subsequent carbonization at 900 °C. The resultant mNC/rGO nanosheets have an average pore size of 19 nm, a high specific surface of 812 m2·g–1 and a nitrogen content of 2.2 wt%. As an oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst, the unique structural features render the metal-free nanosheets excellent electrocatalytic performance. In a 0.1 mol·L–1 KOH alkaline medium, mNC/rGO exhibits a four-electron transfer pathway with a high half-wave-potential (E1/2) of +0.77 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and a limiting current density (JL) of 5.2 mA·cm–2, which are well comparable with those of the commercial Pt/C catalysts.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51573091, 21774076, 21320102006 and 91527304), Program of the Shanghai Committee of Science and Technology (Nos. 17JC1403200 and 16JC1400703), and Program for Shanghai Eastern Scholar. The authors also appreciate the Instrumental Analysis Center of Shanghai Jiao Tong University for some measurements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Ageing, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Nan Wang, Hao Tian, Shu-Yan Zhu, De-Yue Yan & Yi-Yong Mai

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  1. Nan Wang
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  2. Hao Tian
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Correspondence to Yi-Yong Mai.

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Invited paper for special issue of “Supramolecular Self-Assembly”

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Two-dimensional Nitrogen-doped Mesoporous Carbon/Graphene Nanocomposites from the Self-assembly of Block Copolymer Micelles in Solution

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Wang, N., Tian, H., Zhu, SY. et al. Two-dimensional Nitrogen-doped Mesoporous Carbon/Graphene Nanocomposites from the Self-assembly of Block Copolymer Micelles in Solution. Chin J Polym Sci 36, 266–272 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-018-2091-1

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