Block Copolymers for Rational Design of Nitrogen-Enriched Nanocarbons Suitable for Sustainable Energy Applications

摘要

Heteroatom-enriched nanocarbon materials are currently receiving an increasing level of attention due to their malleability providing opportunities in several applications ranging from catalysis, energy storage, and gas sorbents. Nitrogen-enriched nanocarbon materials have been most widely investigated due to well-developed synthetic routes and the abundance of nitrogen-containing carbon precursors including small molecules, synthetic polymers, and bio-macromolecules. In this paper, we report an efficient method for the synthesis of nitrogen-enriched nanocarbons from phase-separated polyacrylonitrile-block-poly(butyl acrylate) copolymers (PAN-b-PBA) precursors. The morphology and surface area of such copolymer-templated nitrogen-enriched nanocarbons (CTNCs) can be adjusted by tuning the molecular weight and the volume fraction of each PAN-b-PBA block. Mesoporous nanostructures are generated by thermal degradation of the sacrificial PBA block while PAN serves as the source of the nitrogen-containing carbon. (Scheme 1) The utility of the prepared CTNCs for CO2 capture, electrode materials of supercapacitors, and electrocatalysis for oxygen reduction reactions (ORR) is then discussed.