Nitrogen- and Boron-Doped Carbon Nanotube Electrodes in a Thermo-Electrochemical Cell

© 2012 The Electrochemical Society, Inc. All rights reserved. Except as provided under U.S. copyright law, this work may not be reproduced, resold, distributed, or modified without the express permission of The Electrochemical Society (ECS).We explore the prospects of using doped carbon nanotube (CNT) electrodes to increase the output power of thermo-electrochemical cells (TECs). CNT buckypaper electrodes doped with nitrogen and boron were characterized using cyclic voltammetry, impedance spectroscopy, and TEC test with potassium ferri/ferrocyanide electrolyte. Both doping states increased the electrochemically active surface area of CNT electrodes. Electrostatic interactions with potassium ions altered the charge transfer kinetics for doped CNT electrodes; yet, the symmetry of the charge transfer remained approximately equal to that of pristine CNTs. In TEC test, accumulation of potassium ions at doped CNT electrodes was found to reduce short-circuit current