Phosphorus and nitrogen-containing carbons obtained by the carbonization of conducting polyaniline complex with phosphites

Non-conducting polyaniline base interacts with organic phosphites to a conducting product resembling classical polyaniline salts. Polyaniline-phosphite complexes were carbonized in inert atmosphere at 650 °C to phosphorus- and nitrogen-containing carbons. The resulting materials were tested with respect to their electrochemical performance by considering their capacitive properties and electrocatalytic activity towards oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Carbonized polyaniline-diphenyl phosphite displayed the highest capacitance among all investigated carbons, reaching the values above 100 F g−1 at 5 mV s−1 in concentrated potassium hydroxide solution, while the same material also displayed the highest ORR activity in alkaline media. Considering small specific surface area of obtained carbon materials, the synthetic procedures lead to the surface structures which are exceptionally active for charge storage and in electrocatalysis of ORR. It is proposed that further improvement of electrochemical properties can be obtained by preserving the type of the present surface functional groups with simultaneous increase of their number by the increase of the specific surface.