In‐situ One‐Step Preparation of Nickel‐Tipped N‐doped Carbon Nanotubes for Oxygen Reduction

Abstract Here, we successfully synthesized N‐doped carbon nanotubes embedded with nickel‐based nanoparticles on the top (N‐CNTs/E‐NNPs) by directly procedural calcination of melamine and nickel foam at 520 °C, 540 °C and 700 °C in Ar. When applied for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), the onset potential and half‐wave potential are 0.96 V and 0.86 V in 0.1 M KOH, comparable to that of the commercial 10 wt% Pt/C. Moreover, the hybrids possess higher stability and better methanol tolerance. Additionally, the Tafel slope of N‐CNTs/E‐NNPs is 76 mV dec −1 in 0.1 M KOH, lower than 83 mV dec −1 of the commercial 10 wt% Pt/C, demonstrating a good kinetic process. The remarkable features are mainly ascribed to synergistic enhancement effect from N‐rich doped carbon nanotubes (N‐CNTs) and embedded Ni‐based nanoparticles on the top, promoting mass and electrons transport, enhancing the activity of active sites and making it a promising highly efficient non‐precious metal ORR catalyst.