Carbon nitride modified nanocarbon materials as efficient non-metallic catalysts for alkane dehydrogenation

Carbon nitride modified carbon nanotubes (CN-OCNT) was prepared through simple electrostatic-dispersion and carbonization process using melamine and oxidized CNTs (oCNTs) as precursors. The stable electrostatic interactions between melamine and oCNTs enable a homogeneous dispersion of the precursor melamine on oCNTs surface. Carbon nitride (CNx) layers formed in-situ and dispersed evenly on oCNTs surface after thermal treatment. The modification with CNx layers increased the surface area and basicity of nanocarbon materials. And the electron rich CNx layers effectively increased the nucleophilicity, and thus promoted the CH bond activation ability of nanocarbon catalysts. CNx modified nanocarbon exhibited an obviously higher intrinsic activity than unmodified ones.