Issue 31, 2022

Coordinated single-molecule micelles: a self-template approach for preparing mesoporous doped carbons

Abstract

Porous carbons prepared using a self-template approach inherit the pore features of template, but they exhibit almost no evenly dispersed mesopores, which is significant for diffusion-limited applications. Herein, N-doped hierarchically porous carbons (NHPCs) with uniform mesopores are prepared using a self-template method. The spherical single-molecule micelle of polystyrene-b-poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (PS-b-P4VP) is turned into a Zn2+-coordinated PS-b-P4VP micelle (CPM) by coordination of Zn2+ with the P4VP shell. Then, the self-template of the CPM is carbonized into a hollow carbon nanosphere. During carbonization, the PS core is decomposed to generate the central mesopore, whereas the Zn2+-coordinated P4VP shell is transformed into a carbonaceous shell. These even hollow carbon nanospheres aggregate to form uniformly mesoporous carbon lumps. Simultaneously, the coordinated Zn2+ of the CPM is reduced to metal zinc at high temperatures and then it is evaporated, thus creating numerous micropores in the carbonaceous shell. These NHPCs with uniform mesopores display a high specific surface area. As a demonstration in diffusion-limited applications, their catalytic performances for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are investigated. Strikingly, NHPCs exhibit outstanding catalytic performances for the ORR. This self-template method paves a facile approach for preparing mesoporous carbons with high performances.

Graphical abstract: Coordinated single-molecule micelles: a self-template approach for preparing mesoporous doped carbons

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
25 Mar 2022
Accepted
05 Jul 2022
First published
06 Jul 2022

Nanoscale, 2022,14, 11298-11304

Coordinated single-molecule micelles: a self-template approach for preparing mesoporous doped carbons

H. Ouyang, C. Fang, Z. Xu, L. Li and G. Xiao, Nanoscale, 2022, 14, 11298 DOI: 10.1039/D2NR01655A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements