Morphological control of N-doped carbon nanotubes and their electrochemical properties

The N-doped carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with different microstructures have been fabricated via the pyrolysis of melamine catalyzed by iron chloride. The morphologies of N-doped CNTs were tailored by the molar ratio of melamine and iron chloride and calcined temperature. The pure CNTs with bamboo-like structure are formed at 700 °C when the molar ratio of melamine and iron chloride is 4, and its BET surface and specific capacitance are higher than that of samples calcined at 600 °C or 800 °C. The BET surface and capacitance of samples increase with increasing the molar ratio of melamine and iron chloride, and the maximum BET surface area and specific capacitance are 298 m2 g−1 and 67 F g−1, respectively.