Properties of Nitrogen-Functionalized Ordered Mesoporous Carbon Prepared Using Polypyrrole Precursor

Nitrogen-doped ordered mesoporous carbon was synthesized using SBA-15 as the template and polypyrrole as the nitrogen-containing carbon precursor. Transmission electron microscopy and N-2 Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller adsorption revealed a honeycomb-like ordered mesoporous structure with an average pore diameter of 3.3 nm with a narrow distribution. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that pyridinic and quaternary nitrogen functionalities were the dominant nitrogen surface functional groups. A high percentage of nitrogen was retained in the carbon surface (C/N = 8.3). The prepared nitrogen-functionalized support had a specific double layer capacitance of 182.5 F/g. Also, its intrinsic oxygen reduction activity was better than that of Vulcan XC-72R. Accelerated degradation test showed that nitrogen-functionalized carbon was highly resistant to electrochemical corrosion. (C) 2010 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/1.3489412] All rights reserved.