Fullerene-Derived Carbon Nanotubes and Their Electrocatalytic Properties in Oxygen Reduction and Zn-Air Batteries

Carbon-based materials with superior electrochemical performances have been prepared from fullerenes by releasing their intrinsic advantages such as pentagon defects and pi-electron carbons. To the best of our knowledge, fullerene-derived carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and their electrochemical behavior have not been experimentally investigated. In this work, in situ growth of CNT composites from fullerene is realized via a self-catalyzed process by employing an Fe-decorated fullerene (ferrocenylpyrrolidine C-60) as the precursor and NH3 as the pyrolysis atmosphere. The results show that the in situ Fe doping in fullerene, the self assembly of fullerene molecules, the pyrolysis temperature, and the NH3 flow play essential roles in the generation of CNTs. The as prepared MN7-10/3 CNT composite exhibits efficient oxygen reduction performance with E-1/2 = 0.82 V and E-on = 1.02 V vs the RHE. The flexible solid-state Zn-air battery constructed based on MN7-10/3 exhibits a superior power density (109.3 mW cm(-2) at 180.9 mA cm(-2)) and long-term durability (the voltage remains at 95.6% of the initial value after discharging for 5000 s) compared with the benchmark Pt/C catalyst. The transformation of the Fe-decorated fullerene to CNTs reveals a new function of fullerenes and demonstrates a new solid-state synthetic method for CNTs.

Automated summary

This study successfully realized the transformation from fullerenes to CNTs by modifying the structure and conditions, and prepared carbon-based materials with superior electrochemical performances. This research is of great significance in the field of fullerenes and CNTs.