Abstract

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) nanotubes with an array structure were prepared by penetrating a PEG solution into anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates with a pore diameter of 200 nm. Nitrogen-doped carbonaceous nanotubes array were also successfully fabricated by annealing the polymer nanotube arrays in NH₃ atmosphere. Their morphology and structure were charactarized by XRD, SEM, TEM, and XPS respectively. The results show that the structure of carbonaceous nanotubes array is uniformly sustained. Their electrocatalytic performance was tested by using rotating disk electrode (RDE) technique. The results indicate the new carbon-based metal-free catalyst shows a high catalytic activity and an excellent methanol tolerance for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR).

Keywords: AAO, carbonaceous nanotubes array, nitrogen-doping, orr, polymer nanotube.