Co(O)_x Particles in Polymeric N-Doped Carbon Nanotube Applied for Photocatalytic H₂ or Electrocatalytic O₂ Evolution

A new way for synthesizing porous composite with cobalt species and N-doped carbon nanotubes (NDCNTs) was reported here by using cobalt salts and melamine mixtures as precursor. The Co(O)_x/NDCNTs exhibited good activity of electrocatalytic O₂ production. Furthermore, after reduced by H₂, the Co-NDCNTs showed strong absorption of visible light and high catalytic activity of H₂ production, which is 598.5 μmol g^-1 h^-1 under the visible light (λ > 420 nm). The results suggested that supramolecular preorganization of melamine monomers may be a promising method of synthesizing two-dimensional N-doped carbon nanotube with Co particles in it. The morphologies should be beneficial for the charge transport and separation. This work can encourage further synthesize new efficient noble-metal-free photocatalysts or electrocatalysts.