Enhanced Oxygen Reduction Stability and Activity by Co and N (or O) Interaction in CoO on N‐Doped Carbon Prepared through Spray Pyrolysis. Issue 15 (16th May 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kim, In Gyeom; Nah, In Wook; Park, Sehkyu
• Is Part Of: ChemElectroChem. Volume 5:Issue 15(2018)
• Page Start: 2089
• Page End: 2097
• Publication Date: 2018-05-16
• Subjects: cobalt (II) oxide -- N-doped carbon -- fuel cells -- spray pyrolysis -- oxygen reduction reaction; Electrochemistry -- Periodicals; 541.37
• DOI: 10.1002/celc.201800396
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2196-0216

Abstract

Abstract: Although the development of a highly active and cost‐effective electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is necessary, it is a challenging issue for commercially viable energy conversion applications such as fuel cells or metal‐air batteries. In this study, we synthesize nitrogen‐doped, carbon‐supported CoO catalysts (denoted as CoO/NCs) with high stability and activity. The CoO/NC is prepared by one‐pot spray pyrolysis, which is simple and has an easily scalable synthetic route. In an effort to find a better catalyst composition for ORR activity, several catalysts are synthesized by controlling the concentrations of the solutions that contain carbon, urea as the nitrogen source, and a cobalt precursor. The catalysts are then characterized using various methods to comprehensively study their properties coupled with ORR kinetics and stability. The CoO/NC2 catalyst shows higher catalytic activity towards ORR than the other in‐house prepared catalysts. It is comparable to commercial Pt/C and has very high stability for 80 h in an alkaline medium. Systematic analyses clarify that the superior electrocatalytic performance of CoO/NC2 stems mainly from its enhanced electron density and pathway by heteroatom doping and its modified carbon nature during spray pyrolysis. Abstract : Time to CoO : Nitrogen‐doped carbon‐supported CoO catalysts (CoO/NC) prepared through a one‐step facile spray pyrolysis are investigated for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). A highly ordered carbon structure and strong covalent bonds of Co−N (or O) could lead to remarkable ORR performance and stability.