N-doped graphene foam obtained by microwave-assisted exfoliation of graphite

The synthesis of metal-free but electrochemically active electrode materials, which could be an important contributor to environmental protection, is the key motivation for this research approach. The progress of graphene material science in recent decades has contributed to the further development of nanotechnology and material engineering. Due to the unique properties of graphene materials, they have found many practical applications: among others, as catalysts in metal-air batteries, supercapacitors, or fuel cells. In order to create an economical and efficient material for energy production and storage applications, researchers focused on the introduction of additional heteroatoms to the graphene structure. As solutions for functionalizing pristine graphene structures are very difficult to implement, this article presents a facile method of preparing nitrogen-doped graphene foam in a microwave reactor. The influence of solvent type and microwave reactor holding time was investigated. To characterize the elemental content and structural properties of the obtained N-doped graphene materials, methods such as elemental analysis, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy were used. Electrochemical activity in ORR of the obtained materials was tested using cyclic voltamperometry (CV) and linear sweep voltamperometry (LSV). The tests proved the materials’ high activity towards ORR, with the number of electrons reaching 3.46 for tested non-Pt materials, while the analogous value for the C-Pt (20 wt% loading) reference was 4.