Synthesis of Hybrid Carbon Materials Consisting of N-Doped Microporous Carbon and Amorphous Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

The N-doped hybrid carbon materials containing amorphous carbon nanotubes (ACNTs) were obtained by free growth of a polymer at 200 °C. The improvement of electrical conductivity was achieved by a final carbonization at 600–800 °C under the flow of nitrogen. The microstructure of ACNT/N-doped hybrids was characterized using a transmission electron microscope and X-ray diffusion. Furthermore, their elemental composition was measured using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and an elemental analyzer. The experimental results indicated that the ACNTs had a diameter in the range of 40–60 nm and the N-doped carbon background contained nitrogen atoms in most bonded pyrrolic-N and quaternary-N groups. The results revealed that the microstructure of the as-grown nanotubes, prepared by the proposed method, is mainly amorphous. This technique introduces the advantages of low cost and process simplicity, which may redeem some drawbacks of the methods commonly used in ACNT synthesis.