Simultaneous Graphite Exfoliation and N Doping in Supercritical Ammonia

Abstract

We report the exfoliation of graphite and simultaneous N doping of graphene by two methods: supercritical ammonia treatment and liquid-phase exfoliation with NH4OH. While the supercritical ammonia allowed N doping at a level of 6.4 atom % in 2 h, the liquid-phase exfoliation with NH4OH allowed N doping at a level of 2.7 atom % in 6 h. The N doped graphene obtained via the supercritical ammonia route had few layers (<5) and showed large lateral flake size (similar to 8 mu m) and low defect density (I-D/I-G < 0.6) in spite of their high level of N doping. This work is the first demonstration of supercritical ammonia as an exfoliation agent and N doping precursor for graphene. Notably, the N doped graphene showed electrocatalytic activity toward oxygen reduction reaction with high durability and good methanol tolerance compared to those of commercial Pt/C catalyst.