Issue 4, 2017

A general approach for the direct fabrication of metal oxide-based electrocatalysts for efficient bifunctional oxygen electrodes

Abstract

A simple one-pot synthetic strategy for the general preparation of nitrogen doped carbon supported metal/metal oxides (Co@CoO/NDC, Ni@NiO/NDC and MnO/NDC) derived from the complexing function of (ethylenediamine)tetraacetic acid (EDTA) is developed. EDTA serves not only as a resource to tune the morphology in terms of the complexation constant for M–EDTA, but also as a nitrogen and oxygen source for nitrogen doping and metal oxide formation, respectively. When the materials are used as electrocatalysts for the oxygen electrode reaction, Co@CoO/NDC-700 and MnO/NDC-700 show superior electrocatalytic activity towards the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), while Co@CoO/NDC-700 and Ni@NiO/NDC-700 exhibit excellent oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activities. Taken together, the resultant Co@CoO/NDC-700 exhibits the best catalytic activity with favorable reaction kinetics and durability as a bi-functional catalyst for the ORR and OER, which is much better than the other two catalysts, Pt/C and Ir/C. Moreover, as an air electrode for a homemade zinc–air battery, Co@CoO/NDC-700 shows superior cell performance with a highest power density of 192.1 mW cm−2, the lowest charge–discharge overpotential and high charge–discharge durability over 100 h.

Graphical abstract: A general approach for the direct fabrication of metal oxide-based electrocatalysts for efficient bifunctional oxygen electrodes

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
10 Feb 2017
Accepted
07 Mar 2017
First published
07 Mar 2017

Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2017,1, 823-831

A general approach for the direct fabrication of metal oxide-based electrocatalysts for efficient bifunctional oxygen electrodes

J. Wang, Z. Wu, L. Han, C. Xuan, J. Zhu, W. Xiao, J. Wu, H. L. Xin and D. Wang, Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2017, 1, 823 DOI: 10.1039/C7SE00085E

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