Boron Doped Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes as Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction and Oxygen Evolution Reactionin in Alkaline Media

The boron doped multi-walled carbon nanotubes (B-MWCNTs) were synthesized by thermal annealing multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in the presence of boric acid. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) results revealed that the structure of MWCNTs does not be destroyed during the doping process, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis demonstrated the boron atoms were successfully doped in the structure of MWCNTs. The electrocatalytic properties of B-MWCNTs are characterized by rotating disk electrode (RDE) methods. The results demonstrated that the B-MWCNTs catalyzed oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media by a 2 + 2 electron pathway and it showed good catalytic activity for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) as well.