Controllable synthesis of carbon nanosheets derived from oxidative polymerisation of m-phenylenediamine

Liyuan Zhang; Liyuan Chai; Mengran Wang; Yuekun Lai; Yanqing Lai; Xiaoyan Li

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2018.08.101

Controllable synthesis of carbon nanosheets derived from oxidative polymerisation of m-phenylenediamine

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2019 Jan 1:533:437-444. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2018.08.101. Epub 2018 Aug 29.

Authors

Liyuan Zhang¹, Liyuan Chai², Mengran Wang², Yuekun Lai³, Yanqing Lai², Xiaoyan Li⁴

Affiliations

¹ Environmental Engineering Research Centre, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
² School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China.
³ College of Chemical Engineering, Fuzhou University; College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China.
⁴ Environmental Engineering Research Centre, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: xlia@hkucc.hku.hk.

PMID: 30172154
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2018.08.101

Abstract

Synthesis of high-quality carbon nanosheets with superior physicochemical properties is of particular importance for environmental and catalytic applications. In this research, carbon nanosheets with tunable porosity were successfully synthesized using two-dimensional (2D) poly(m-phenylenediamine) (PmPD) as precursor. The flat polymer precursor was acquired by oxidative polymerisation of m-phenylenediamine coupled with iron ions coordination, which confined an anisotropic growth of polymer within the 2D directions. Moreover, the addition of H₂O after the polymerisation is able to indirectly regulate the porosity of the carbon nanosheets. The carbon nanosheets with controllable porosity realize comparable electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction as compared with commercial Pt/C, indicative of great potential to serve as noble metals candidates in the application of zinc/air batteries.

Keywords: Carbon nanosheets; Oxidative polymerisation; Poly(m-phenylenediamine); Porosity.