NH3-activated carbon nanofibers for low-concentration NO removal at room temperature

•Nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers (NCNFs) were prepared using NH3 as activating agent.•The activation temperature had prominent effects on the texture of as-produced NCNFs.•The NO removal efficiency was 64.5% at NO initial concentration of 20 ppm at 30 °C.•The mechanism of catalytic oxidation on NCNFs was examined.

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers (NCNFs) were prepared by activating electrospun carbon nanofibers using NH3 as activating agent at different temperatures. NCNFs with various contents of nitrogen were used as adsorbents and catalysts for low-concentration NO removal at room temperature. The NO removal efficiency over NCNFs was far above that over porous carbon nanofibers obtained by steam-activation, suggesting that NCNFs are efficient catalysts for low-concentration NO removal at room temperature. A maximum of 64.5% removal efficiency for NO was acquired at NO initial concentration of 20 ppm and 21 vol.% of O2 at room temperature.