Electrochemically Active Nitrogen-Enriched Nanocarbons with Engineered Morphology by Pyrolysis of Block Copolymer Nanodomains(3/3)

The research project will fabricate electrochemically active nitrogen-enrichednanocarbons with engineered morphologies by direct pyrolysis of pyridine-containing blockcopolymer nanodomains. Block copolymers (BCP) with a variety of self-assembledmorphologies will first be prepared by annealing as-spun films in solvent vapor and drying inair. To obtain nanostructured carbons with improved morphological and dimensional retention,UV irradiation in an inert environment will be used to stabilize self-assembled nanodomains.Here the first goal of the project is to identify correlations between electrochemical catalystactivities for oxygen reduction and nitrogen content as well as configuration doped onnanostructured carbons as a function of pyrolysis temperature. The second goal is to fabricate3D nitrogen-doped nanocarbon hybrids with uniform dispersion of nonprecious particulatemetals (such as Au, Ag, Fe and Co) or metal oxides as efficient cathode catalysts for oxygenreduction reaction. Such nano-composites will be made through pyrolysis ofBCP-nanoparticle hybrids.