Release of N(2) from the carbon nanotubes via high-temperature annealing

Hyun Chul Choi; Seung Yong Bae; Woo-Sung Jang; Jeunghee Park; Ha Jin Song; Hyun-Joon Shin; Hyunsung Jung; Jae-Pyoung Ahn

doi:10.1021/jp046098b

Release of N(2) from the carbon nanotubes via high-temperature annealing

J Phys Chem B. 2005 Feb 10;109(5):1683-8. doi: 10.1021/jp046098b.

Authors

Hyun Chul Choi¹, Seung Yong Bae, Woo-Sung Jang, Jeunghee Park, Ha Jin Song, Hyun-Joon Shin, Hyunsung Jung, Jae-Pyoung Ahn

Affiliation

¹ Department of Chemistry, Korea University, Jochiwon 339-700, South Korea.

PMID: 16851143
DOI: 10.1021/jp046098b

Abstract

Nitrogen (N)-doped carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were heated to 1000 degrees C under an ultrahigh vacuum. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) reveal three different N structures; graphitelike, pyridine-like, and molecular N(2). The vibrationally resolved XANES peaks of N(2) were first observed, suggesting the existence of molecular N(2) as intercalated and trapped forms. The annealing process can decrease the average N content from 6.3 at. % to 3.3 at. %, mainly by releasing molecular N(2). Electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) confirms that the annealing releases molecular N(2) from the CNTs.