Carbon nanotube-linked hollow carbon nanospheres doped with iron and nitrogen as single-atom catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction in acidic solutions

Jin-Cheng Li; Min Cheng; Tao Li; Lu Ma; Xiaofan Ruan; Dong Liu; Hui-Ming Cheng; Chang Liu; Dan Du; Zidong Wei; Yuehe Lin; Minhua Shao

doi:10.1039/C9TA00508K

Carbon nanotube-linked hollow carbon nanospheres doped with iron and nitrogen as single-atom catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction in acidic solutions†

Jin-Cheng Li,

^abc Min Cheng,^c Tao Li,^de Lu Ma,

^d Xiaofan Ruan,^b Dong Liu,^b Hui-Ming Cheng,

^c Chang Liu,

*^c Dan Du,

^b Zidong Wei,

^f Yuehe Lin

*^b and Minhua Shao

*^ag

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Fok Ying Tung Research Institute, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Guangzhou 511458, China
E-mail: kemshao@ust.hk

^b School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
E-mail: yuehe.lin@wsu.edu

^c Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
E-mail: cliu@imr.ac.cn

^d Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Northern Illinois University, 1425 W. Lincoln Hwy., DeKalb, IL, USA

^e X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Lemont, Illinois 60439, USA

^f College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China

^g Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

Abstract

Non-noble metal electrocatalysts toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are highly required to substitute expensive Pt/C as the cathode of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. However, the relatively low ORR activity of Pt-free catalysts under acidic conditions is the major issue. Herein, we engineered a three-dimensional structure consisting of atomically dispersed Fe, N-doped hollow carbon nanospheres linked by carbon nanotubes as an electrocatalyst for the ORR. Benefiting from the unique structure and high-density atomic Fe–N_x sites, this new type of electrocatalyst showed an impressive ORR half-wave potential of 0.84 V and kinetic current density of 13.1 mA cm⁻² at a potential of 0.8 V in acidic media, which was even better those of commercial Pt/C.

This article is part of the themed collection: International Year of the Periodic Table : Single Atoms as Active Catalysts

Journal of Materials Chemistry A

Carbon nanotube-linked hollow carbon nanospheres doped with iron and nitrogen as single-atom catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction in acidic solutions†

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