CNT Support Research Articles

Mechanistic insight into the simultaneous removal of Cr(VI) and phosphate by a novel versatile bimetallic material

Industrial wastewater containing hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) and phosphate poses a great threat to human health and the aquatic ecological environment. In this study, a novel La(OH)3- and CaO2-fabricated CNT (La-Ca-CNT) material was developed for the simultaneous and highly effective removal of aqueous Cr(VI) and phosphate. Characterization results showed that synergistic effects existed between the CNT support and La and Ca species. La-Ca-CNT showed high phosphate and Cr(VI) removal rates in acidic conditions with high stability. Kinetic study suggested that the fast adsorption of phosphate on La-Ca-CNT was controlled by intraparticle diffusion. The removal of Cr(VI) and phosphate interacted with each other, and the removal of Cr(VI) went through a slow-fast-slow reaction, reaching a Cr(VI) removal rate of over 97% within 180min. La-Ca-CNT had a high phosphate adsorption capacity (174.3mg/g), and over 70% of the adsorbed phosphate could be recovered. The presence of co-existing anions showed negative effects on phosphate adsorption but negligible effects on Cr(VI) reduction, while organic carbon in natural water showed no effect on phosphate and Cr(VI) removal. A mechanistic study revealed that phosphate was removed by physical-chemical adsorption (outer-sphere complexation and ligand exchange) over La-Ca-CNT, while Cr(VI) was reduced by H2O2 generated from CaO2 or directly by surface CaO2.

Synthesis of MnCoO/CNT nanoflakes for the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange dye and the evaluation of their activity against Culex pipiens larvae in the purification of fresh water.

Researchers worldwide have been looking forward to using novel ways to purify fresh water containing pollutants and disease vectors. In the current work, nanoparticles were introduced as a promising technique for cleaning water and saving human health and living organisms. The nanocomposites, MnCoO and MnCoO/CNTs, were fabricated by a cost-effective co-precipitation method. Phase and molecular structures were investigated by XRD and Raman spectroscopy. The samples exhibited polycrystalline nature of binary phase and weak crystallinity. The elemental composition was recorded by EDX spectra, revealing the purity of the nanoparticles. The surface morphology and particle distribution were described using SEM and TEM micrographs, indicating that MnCoO/CNTs are nanoflakes with a large surface area. The optical parameters include α, E g, n, k, which were identified from T% and R% measurements, suggesting that MnCoO has a direct band gap that reduced with the CNT support. The photocatalytic activity of MnCoO/CNTs was examined for the degradation of methyl orange dye with an efficiency of ∼90.97% over 0.6 g L-1 within 50 min under UV irradiation. In the larvicidal activity, the micrograph images revealed the impact of the nanoflake particles on the 4th instar larvae, where the enzymatic activity of esterases acetylcholinesterase, α- and β-carboxylesterase, and transaminases drastically decreased with the MnCoO/CNT ratio.

MnxOy embedded within CNT supporting porous carbon for enhanced lithium storage

Achievement of improved structural stability and conductivity for Mn-based oxides is the crucial premise for them to be high-performance anodes of lithium-ion batteries due to their large volume effect and poor intrinsic conductivity. Herein, the lithium storage performance of the MnxOy nanoparticles containing dominant MnO and slight MnO2 and Mn3O4 has been significantly improved by embedding them into a CNT supporting porous carbon. This composite is therefore denoted as CNT/MnxOy/C. The comparison results of the electrochemical performance of thus CNT/MnxOy/C with CNT/Mn3O4 and pure Mn3O4 nanoparticles demonstrate that the well-designed synergistic effect of high conductive CNT support and flexible spongy porous carbon is responsible for its improved performance, which efficiently enhances not only the structural stability but also the electrochemical kinetics of the CNT/MnxOy/C. As a result, this CNT/MnxOy/C anode shows outstanding performance, obtaining high capacities of 936.5 and 410.5 mAh g-1 at 200 and 1000 mA g-1 after 260 and 800 cycles, respectively. Moreover, this strategy proposed here will be hopefully instructive in constructing other advanced metal oxide nanomaterials toward improved performance of lithium-ion battery anodes.

New Insight of Pyrrole-Like Nitrogen for Boosting Hydrogen Evolution Activity and Stability of Pt Single Atoms.

Single atomic Pt catalysts exhibit particularly high hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity compared to conventional nanomaterial-based catalysts. However, the enhanced mechanisms between Pt and their coordination environment are not understood in detail. Hence, a systematic study examining the different types of N in the support is essential to clearly demonstrate the relationship between Pt single atoms and N-doped support. Herein, three types of carbon nanotubes with varying types of N (pyridine-like N, pyrrole-like N, and quaternary N) are used as carbon support for Pt single atom atomic layer deposition. The detailed coordination environment of the Pt single atom catalyst is carefully studied by electron microscope and X-ray absorption spectra (XAS). Interestingly, with the increase of pyrrole-like N in the CNT support, the HER activity of the Pt catalyst also improves. First principle calculations results indicate that the interaction between the dyz and s orbitals of H and sp3 hybrid orbital of N should be the origin of the superior HER performance of these Pt single atom catalysts (SACs).

Substrate Effect of Platinum-Decorated Carbon on Enhanced Hydrogen Oxidation in PEMFC.

Environmentally sustainable fuel cells with high efficiency have attracted much attention as a promising approach to resolving future energy problems. However, some obstacles must be overcome, such as corrosion, water control, and long-term degradation. Herein, we investigated the improved electrochemical performance and hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) mechanism of platinum loaded on carbon nanotube (Pt/CNT) catalyst by conducting experimental and theoretical studies. The Pt/CNT catalyst had a larger active area than the Pt/C (platinum loaded on carbon black) catalyst and also exhibited improved performance due to its long-term stability. In addition, the charge-transfer resistance of Pt/CNT (61.2 Ω cm2) is much smaller than that of Pt/C (90.2 Ω cm2), indicating that the CNT support offers good electron transfer. To further understand the hydrogen dissociation mechanisms of Pt/CNT and Pt/C, we investigated the adsorption characteristics and electron transfer of the catalysts with optimized geometry using the density functional theory (DFT). Pt/CNT exhibited higher adsorption energy and electron transfer than Pt/C, which leads to improved HOR. The integrated experimental and theoretical study conducted here suggests that Pt/CNT is a promising candidate for maintaining the performance of cathode catalysts in the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell.

Influence of feed rate and testing variables for low-temperature tri-reforming of methane on the Ni@MWCNT/Ce catalyst

This work proposes the synthesis of the Ni@MWCNT/Ce catalyst and evaluation the influence of feed rate and testing variables on the tri-reforming of methane. Morphology and incorporation of the nanoparticles in carbon nanotubes were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), specific surface area (BET), thermogravimetric analyses (TGA) and Raman spectroscopy. The 5%Ni@MWCNT/5%Ce catalyst was initially tested at 700°C for 44 h and remained stable throughout the test period. The catalyst was evaluated for the tri-reforming of methane, varying temperatures, space velocities, and feed rate concentrations of water and oxygen, using experimental design. The highest CH4 conversions were obtained for similar feed condition (CH4:CO2:H2O:O2:N2) (1:0.34:0.23:0.5:2.1) but for different space velocities and temperatures. Experiment C25 presented 91% conversion of CH4 and 30.8% of CO2 with a H2/CO = 1.88 at 700 °C and space velocity of 2000 ml/g.min. However, the highest conversions (96.8% CH4, 38.7% of CO2 and the ratio H2/CO = 1.88) were obtained for a higher temperature (750°C) and lower space velocity 1250 ml/g.min, which indicates influence of residence time and kinetics. Raman spectra evidenced clearly total absence of coke formation. The CNT support was decomposed or burnt during the reaction resulting in unsupported oxides and nickel metallic particles well dispersed or deposited over residual carbon or growth filaments.

Sintered Fe/CNT framework catalysts for CO2 hydrogenation into hydrocarbons

Because of its contribution to greenhouse effect, carbon dioxide conversion to valuable chemicals is one of the most challenging issues facing the modern world. A new type of iron catalysts of CO2 hydrogenation into hydrocarbons was synthesized by spark plasma sintering of carbon nanotubes decorated with iron oxide nanoparticles. This treatment produced carbon-encapsulated iron nanocrystals embedded in a dense framework of CNTs. The sintered catalysts were tested without pre-reduction in CO2 hydrogenation under supercritical conditions (350 °C, 8.5 MPa) and showed high specific activities of 5.4–12.2 molCO2gFe−1s−1 and promising C2+ selectivities of 40–50 mol.% at rather low H2:CO2 ratios of 1 and 2. The high efficiency of the catalysts was attributed to the stabilization of metal nanoparticles by carbon shells and increased density of CNT support, which led to higher degree of metal – support interaction and intensified carbidization and CO activation.

CO2 photocatalytic reduction with CNT/TiO2 based nanocomposites prepared by high-pressure technology

Previous works with titanium dioxide based photocatalysts synthesized with supercritical fluids led to improved catalyst properties in comparison to those prepared by traditional methods, but still insufficient CO2 reduction rates. In this work, in order to upgrade this type of catalysts, two supercritical methods have been used to prepare CNT/TiO2 and CNT/TiO2/Cu nanocomposites. The effect on photocatalytic performance of CNT/TiO2 ratio and Cu load has been investigated. Decreasing photocatalytic activities were observed when the CNT/TiO2 relationship separated from unit. Regarding the effect of copper doping, it was overshadowed by the effect of CNT support. Finally, because of the excellent properties of CNTs, synthesized composites showed greater catalytic activities than bare TiO2. Specifically, the catalyst with largest activity led to CO and CH4 production rates of 8.1 and 1.1 μmol g−1 h−1, which were much higher than those on P25 (4 times for CO and 15 times for CH4).

Crucial roles of support modification and promoter introduction in Fe/CNT catalyzed syngas conversion to lower olefins

Producing lower olefins via iron-based Fischer-Tropsch synthesis without intermediate process has received increasing interests. Herein, effects of support modification on FTO performance of CNT supported Fe catalysts are comparatively investigated. Employing the defect-rich CNT as the catalyst support compared to the pristine CNT support is found to exhibit the shorter induction period and higher iron time yield (FTY). The promotional effects of K and Mn promoters on the FTO performance are subsequently revealed on the defect-rich CNT supported Fe catalysts. Both promoters are observed to suppress the formation of undesirable methane and to enhance the selectivity to desirable lower olefins. Moreover, the introduction of the Mn promoter facilitates the dispersion of iron particles and thus shows higher FTY, and it also gives rise to much higher catalyst stability than the K promoter. The insights reported here could guide the design and optimization of promoted Fe/C FTO catalysts.

Core-shell structured carbon nanotubes/N-doped carbon layer nanocomposites for supercapacitor electrodes

N-Doped carbon layer–coated carbon nanotube (N-C/CNT) nanocomposites with stable core-shell structures were synthesized using a one-pot hydrothermal reaction. After high-temperature carbonization and KOH activation, the resultant N-C/CNT materials used as supercapacitor electrodes show high specific capacitance, good rate capability, and long cycle stability. The specific capacitance exhibits a high value of 322.1 F g−1 at 1 A g−1, and still maintains 200.7 F g−1, 168.7 F g−1, and 120.0 F g−1 at 5 A g−1, 10 A g−1, and 20 A g−1, respectively. During the 10,000-cycle testing at 5 A g−1, the specific capacitance was kept stable. The high performance of the supercapacitor electrodes could be attributed to the synergistic effect of the high specific surface area with fine pore structure, high electronic conductivity, and mechanical strength of CNT support and pseudocapacitance provided by doping N atoms in the carbon layer.

Preparation of Carbon Nanotubes with Supported Metal Oxide Nanoparticles: Effect of Metal Precursor on Thermal Decomposition Behavior of the Materials

To develop new catalysts based on carbon nanomaterials with supported metal oxide nanoparticles for oxidative transformations of sulfur compounds, a series of metal oxide nanoparticle-decorated carbon nanotubes (MOx/CNTs) were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation at a variation of the active metal type (M = Ce, Mo, Cu). The thermal decomposition of bulk and CNT supported metal precursors used in the preparation of MOx/CNTs was analyzed under inert atmosphere employing several thermoanalytical techniques (thermogravimetry, differential thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry) coupled with mass spectrometry. The thermolysis parameters of the bulk and supported metal precursors were compared and the effect of CNT support on the decomposition pattern of compounds was elucidated. It was established that the decomposition of metal precursors supported on CNTs was started and completed at temperatures of 15‒25 and 25‒70 °C lower, respectively, compared with the bulk active metal precursor. The enhancement of CNT support stability against thermal degradation is observed in the following row of metal cations: Ce < Cu < Мо < pristine and metal anions of precursor: nitrate < chloride < sulfate. The optimal mode of thermal treatment of catalyst and appropriate active metal precursors were selected for advanced synthesis of nanosized MOx/CNT catalyst.

Promoting Effect of Heterostructured NiO/Ni on Pt Nanocatalysts toward Catalytic Hydrolysis of Ammonia Borane.

We report that heterostructured NiO/Ni nanoparticles remarkably promote the catalytic H2 production of platinum (Pt) nanoclusters toward the hydrolysis of ammonia borane (AB). A hybrid nanocatalyst composed ultrasmall Pt nanoclusters, heterostructured NiO/Ni nanoparticles, and a carbon nanotube support (defined as Pt@NiO/Ni-CNT) is fabricated. The resultant Pt@NiO/Ni-CNT is highly efficient for room-temperature H2 production toward catalytic hydrolysis of AB, better than the Pt@NiO-CNT and Pt@Ni-CNT with NiO or Ni alone, and the Pt@NiO/Ni without CNT support. Optimal Pt@NiO/Ni-CNT catalyst exhibits a good catalytic activity with a high TOF of 2665 molH2 molPt-1 min-1 under ambient conditions, overtaking the activities of previously reported catalysts for AB hydrolysis. Catalytic kinetic studies indicate that compositional and structural features of the Pt@NiO/Ni-CNT synergistically accelerate the oxidative clearage of the H-OH bond from attacked H2O (the rate-determining step), thus boosting catalytic hydrolysis of AB kinetically.

Sulfate Surfactant Assisted Approach to Fabricate Sulphur‐Doped Supported Nanodiamond Catalyst on Carbon Nanotube with Unprecedented Catalysis for Ethylbenzene Dehydrogenation

AbstractDirect dehydrogenation (DDH) of ethylbenzene is an efficient chemical process for styrene production. Nanocarbon materials, as clean and low‐cost catalysts, have drawn more and more attention in this field. In this work, inspired by the promoting effect of support modulation on the catalytic performance of the general supported‐type catalyst, we present a facile sulfate surfactant assisted dispersion with subsequent annealing (SADA) approach for preparing sulphur‐doped supported nanodiamond catalyst on carbon nanotube (ND/CNT‐SDS) with abundant active sites by using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as both the dispersing agent for promoting the dispersion of catalytically active ND motif and the CNT support and the sulphur source for sulphur doping, yielding an outstanding supported ND catalyst for DDH of ethylbenzene to styrene with 7.7 mmol g−1cat. h−1 of styrene rate and 98.2 % of styrene selectivity. ND/CNT‐SDS catalyst demonstrates 3.0 times higher styrene rate of the pristine ND. Moreover, ND/CNT‐SDS catalyst shows 1.5 times higher styrene rate of the previously reported defect‐enriched N,O‐codoped ND/CNT (N,O‐ND/CNT‐d) with up to 98 % of similar styrene selectivity, ascribed to its more exposed C=O active sites and higher specific surface area originating from the promoted dispersion of both ND and CNT by SDS, as well as the sulphur‐doping. Moreover, this work also presents a novel and efficient method for the designing the other supported nanocarbon catalysts from dispersion‐required catalytically active nanocarbon motif and the nanocarbon carrier.

A Cathode-Integrated Sulfur-Deficient Co9S8 Catalytic Interlayer for the Reutilization of “Lost” Polysulfides in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Lithium-sulfur batteries, with their high theoretical energy density and the low material cost of sulfur, are highly promising as a post-lithium ion battery contender. Their current performance is however compromised by sulfur loss and polysulfide shuttle to result in low energy efficiency and poor cycle stability. Herein, a catalytic material (Co9S8- x/CNT, nanoparticles with a metallic Co9S8 core and a sulfur-deficient shell on a CNT support) was applied as an interlayer on the sulfur cathode to retain migratory polysulfides and promote their reutilization. The Co9S8- x/CNT catalyst is highly effective for the conversion of polysulfides to insoluble end products (S or Li2S/Li2S2), and its deployment as a cathode-integrated interlayer was able to retain the polysulfides in the cathode for reuse. The accumulation of polysulfides in the electrolyte and the polysulfide shuttle were significantly reduced as a result. Consequently, a host-free sulfur cathode with the Co9S8- x/CNT interlayer had a low capacity fade rate of 0.049% per cycle for 1000 cycles at a 0.3C rate, a significant improvement of the capacity fade rate without it (0.28% per cycle for 200 cycles). The results here provide not only direct evidence for the contributions of sulfur deficiencies on the catalytic activity of Co9S8 in polysulfide conversion reactions but also the methodology on how the catalyst should be deployed in a Li-S battery for the best catalytic outcome.

Batch versus flow stereoselective hydrogenation of α-acetamido-cinnamic acid catalyzed by an Au(I) complex

A chiral gold (I) (2S,4S)-1-tert-butoxycarbonyl-4-diphenylphosphino-2-(diphenylphosphino- methyl) pyrrolidine (BPPM) complex has been prepared using [Au(SMe2)Cl] as precursor. The heterogenization of the Au-BPPM catalyst onto the CNT support followed two routes, ie (i) the non-covalent immobilization of the gold(I)complex by dry-impregnation, and (b) covalent immobilization of the gold(I)complex on a pre-functionalized CNT. These catalysts afford the stereoselective hydrogenation of α-acetamidocinnamic acid to the (R)-N-acetyl-phenylalanine enantiomer. The nature of the solvent affected both the enantioselectivity and TOFs. Among MeOH, EtOH, and TFE, methanol appeared to be the most efficient one (at 80 °C a TOF of 0.37 h−1 for a total enantioselectivity to the R-isomer). Transferring the reaction in the flow reactor, under similar conditions (methanol, room temperature) led to a 10 time increase of the TOF with no change in the stereoselectivity. The decrease of the TOF in time for both the reference Rh and the Au catalysts was assigned to their partial modification under the reaction conditions. The heterogenization of the Au-BPPM catalyst onto the CNT support, for the same content of Au-complex, led to a very important increase of the conversion with no change in the selectivity. However, the covalent bonding was more efficient affording a very high increase of the conversion even at room temperature (95% after 24 h), thus demonstrating that the anchoring a support increases the dispersion, and in consequence the efficiency. These CNT-Au-BPPM catalysts preserved the catalytic performances during recycling as also confirmed by the characterization results.

The promotion and stabilization effects of surface nitrogen containing groups of CNT on cu-based nanoparticles in the oxidative carbonylation reaction

N-doped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) with different contents of N were prepared by pre-oxidation and subsequent N-doping strategy and employed as the supports to fabricate Cu-based catalysts for oxidative carbonylation of methanol. The supports and their corresponding catalysts were characterized thoroughly by BET, XPS, XRD, H2-TPR, TEM, N2O chemisorption, CO-TPD, CH3OH-TPD and ICP-OES measurements. It is found that the increase of oxygen containing groups generated by pre-oxidation can effectively improve the content of the nitrogen containing groups during the subsequent N-doping process. The nitrogen containing groups, especially the pyridine N groups, serving as the preferred anchoring site, significantly promotes the dispersion of Cu species. With the increased content of N from 0 to 5.2%, the dispersion of Cu species increases from 11.0 to 21.6% and the space time yield of DMC increases from 150.5 to 1789.6 mg g−1h−1. Moreover, the incorporation of nitrogen containing groups enhances the interaction between Cu species and CNT support, which suppresses the auto-reduction of Cu2+ to Cu+ and Cu0, while improves the anti-agglomeration, anti-oxidation and anti-leaching properties of Cu species. From the perspective of stability, the space time yield of DMC for Cu/CNT decreases from 150.5 to 86.9 mg g−1 h−1 after four consecutive runs, while that of Cu/NCNT200 slightly decreases from 1789.6 to 1557.9 mg g−1 h−1, and the declined degrees are 42.3% and 12.9%, respectively. The superior dispersion, anti-agglomeration, anti-oxidation and anti-leaching properties of Cu species as well as the promotion effect of pyridine N groups are contributed to the increased activity and stability of the Cu/NCNT200 catalyst.

Catalytic performance of carbon nanotubes supported palladium catalyst for hydrogen production from hydrogen iodide decomposition in thermochemical sulfur iodine cycle

Abstract The current work presents the synthesis of carbon nanotubes supported palladium catalyst for hydrogen production from hydrogen-iodide decomposition in thermochemical water-splitting sulfur-iodine (SI) cycle. XRD results showed that the Pd nanoparticles were highly dispersed on the CNT support. Raman results showed that Pd(3%) possessed the highest quantity of defects than other loaded Pd samples and CNT support. The order of catalytic activity for hydrogen-iodide decomposition is: Pd(3%)/CNT > Pd(5%)/CNT > Pd(1%)/CNT > CNT. This is due to high degree of defects present in Pd(3%)/CNT as compared to others. Pd(3%)/CNT also showed an excellent stability of 100 h for the reaction. The post-characterizations (BET, ICP-AES, XRD and TEM) of spent-Pd(3%)/CNT after 100 h were carried out in order to find out the changes in the specific surface area, elemental analysis, structure and particle size. No changes were observed in the specific surface area, elemental analysis, particle size, and structure of the spent catalyst as compared to the fresh one. This shows the Pd/CNT has a lot of potential of generating hydrogen in the thermochemical SI cycle.

Co-precipitation of magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles onto carbon nanotubes for removal of copper ions from aqueous solution

Abstract The removal of copper ions by magnetic Fe3O4/carbon nanotube (CNT) composite adsorbents, prepared by co-precipitation method, in aqueous solution has been investigated. The influence of magnetite loading (35.5‒64.1 wt.%) onto oxidized CNT support on the adsorption capacity and regeneration efficiency is investigated. The adsorption isotherms of Cu2+ ions are well characterized by Langmuir, Freundlich, and Dubinin–Radushkevich models within the temperature range of 303‒323 K. The decoration of magnetic Fe3O4 significantly enhances the removal efficiency, equilibrium rate constant, and adsorption capacity, as analyzed by these models. The appropriate loading of magnetite nanoparticles on the CNT supports not only increases adsorption capacity but also facilitates regeneration efficiency. Accordingly, the Fe3O4/CNT composite can be used as an effective adsorbent for rapid removal of Cu2+ ions from aqueous solution.

Proactive role of carbon nanotube-polyaniline conjugate support for Pt nano-particles toward electro-catalysis of ethanol in fuel cell

Uniformly dispersed Pt over CNT-Pani hybrid support, shows considerable proficiency in energy conversion for ethanol electro-oxidation in acid medium. Thermal stability of the configuration was studied by thermo gravimetry while the functional moieties within the close packed composite structure were identified through FTIR spectroscopy. The size, shape and distribution of Pt NPs over the polymer modified CNT support were investigated through XRD and TEM analysis and the morphology was obtained from FESEM studies. The much improved functional property of Pt decorated CNT-Pani composite with respect to Pt over bare CNT, for direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC), is attributable to the simultaneous effect of several promoting factors like creation of active electrochemical centers, charge tunneling and proton gliding within the composite structure, ensuring faster reaction kinetics and propagation of the reaction to considerable extent.

Synergistic Effect of a Boron-Doped Carbon-Nanotube-Supported Cu Catalyst for Selective Hydrogenation of Dimethyl Oxalate to Ethanol.

Heteroatom doping is a promising approach to improve the properties of carbon materials for customized applications. Herein, a series of Cu catalysts supported on boron-doped carbon nanotubes (Cu/xB-CNTs) were prepared for the hydrogenation of dimethyl oxalate (DMO) to ethanol. The structure and chemical properties of boron-doped catalysts were characterized by XRD, TEM, N2 O pulse adsorption, CO chemisorption, H2 temperature-programmed reduction, and NH3 temperature-programmed desorption, which revealed that doping boron into CNT supports improved the Cu dispersion, strengthened the interaction of Cu species with the CNT support, introduced more surface acid sites, and increased the surface area of Cu0 and especially Cu+ sites. Consequently, the catalytic activity and stability of the catalysts were greatly enhanced by boron doping. 100 % DMO conversion and 78.1 % ethanol selectivity could be achieved over the Cu/1B-CNTs catalyst, the ethanol selectivity of which was almost 1.7 times higher than that of the catalyst without boron doping. These results suggest that doping CNTs with boron is an efficient approach to improve the catalytic performance of CNT-based catalysts for hydrogenation of DMO. The boron-doped CNT-based catalyst with improved ethanol selectivity and catalytic stability will be helpful in the development of efficient Cu catalysts supported on non-silica materials for selective hydrogenation of DMO to ethanol.