Synthesis of pyridinic-N doped carbon nanofibers and its electro-catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction

As catalytic active sites of nitrogen (N)-doped carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are always under debate, synthesis of high purity pyridinic-N dominated CNMs is an effective approach to study the relation between pyridinic-N and active sites, as well as catalytic mechanism for ORR. Herein, the carbon nanofibers (CNFs) etched by hydrofluoric (HF) acid can be used to synthesize pure pyridinic-N, suggesting that the exposed edge-patterned surface facilitates to synthesize pure pyridinic-N. Moreover, it reveals that the carbon atoms adjacent to pyridinic-N could be the catalytic active sites for ORR.