文摘
We performed first principles spin polarized density functional theory (DFT) calculations to simulate the nitrogen substitutionally doped short (10, 0) carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for dioxygen adsorption and reduction. Our calculated results show that nitrogen prefers to stay at the open-edge of the short CNTs. Dioxygen O2 can adsorb and partially reduce on the carbon−nitrogen complex site (Pauling site) and on carbon−carbon long bridge sites at the open-edge of the CNTs. The results of the spin polarization calculations show that the carbon atoms on the open-edge of the CNT can possess a magnetic moment of about 0.59 μB/atom, while those carbon atoms in the inner wall of the CNT do not have a magnetic moment. The doped nitrogen in the CNT does not have a magnetic moment. The chemisorption of dioxygen O2 on the open-edge of the short CNT reduces the magnetic moments of the carbon atoms to nearly zero.