@article{Wang2016, 
author = {Shuguang Wang and Zhentao Cui and Jinwen Qin and Minhua Cao},
title = {Thermally removable in-situ formed ZnO template for synthesis of hierarchically porous N-doped carbon nanofibers for enhanced electrocatalysis},
year = {2016},
journal = {Nano Research},
volume = {9},
number = {8},
pages = {2270-2283},
keywords = {zinc oxide, hierarchically porous structure, thermally removable, formed in situ, oxygen reduction reaction},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.1007/s12274-016-1114-x},
doi = {10.1007/s12274-016-1114-x},
abstract = {Rational design and simple synthesis of one-dimensional nanofibers with high specific surface areas and hierarchically porous structures are still challenging. In the present work, a novel strategy utilizing a thermally removable template was developed to synthesize hierarchically porous N-doped carbon nanofibers (HP-NCNFs) through the use of simple electrospinning technology coupled with subsequent pyrolysis. During the pyrolysis process, ZnO nanoparticles can be formed in situ and act as a thermally removable template due to their decomposition and sublimation under high-temperature conditions. The resulting HP-NCNFs have lengths of up to hundreds of micrometers with an average diameter of 300 nm and possess a hierarchically porous structure throughout. Such unique structures endow HP-NCNFs with a high specific surface area of up to 829.5 m2·g–1, which is 2.6 times higher than that (323.2 m2·g–1) of conventional N-doped carbon nanofibers (NCNFs). Compared with conventional NCNFs, the HP-NCNF catalyst exhibited greatly enhanced catalytic performance and improved kinetics for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media. Moreover, the HP-NCNFs even showed better stability and stronger methanol crossover effect tolerance than the commercial Pt-C catalyst. The optimized ORR performance can be attributed to the synergetic contribution of continuous and three-dimensional (3D) cross-linked structures, graphene-like structure on the edge of the HP-NCNFs, high specific surface area, and a hierarchically porous structure.}
}