Nitrogen‐Doped Cobalt Oxide Nanostructures Derived from Cobalt–Alanine Complexes for High‐Performance Oxygen Evolution Reactions. (18th April 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Xinran; Wei, Jilei; Li, Qing; Zheng, Shasha; Xu, Yuxia; Du, Pan; Chen, Changyun; Zhao, Jiyang; Xue, Huaiguo; Xu, Qiang; Pang, Huan
• Is Part Of: Advanced functional materials. Volume 28:Number 23(2018)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2018-04-18
• Subjects: cobalt oxide -- coordination -- nanomaterials -- nitrogen‐doped catalysts -- oxygen evolution reaction; Materials -- Periodicals; Chemical vapor deposition -- Periodicals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201800886
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1616-301X

Abstract

Abstract: Taking advantage of the self‐assembling function of amino acids, cobalt–alanine complexes are synthesized by straightforward process of chemical precipitation. Through a controllable calcination of the cobalt–alanine complexes, N‐doped Co3 O4 nanostructures (N‐Co3 O4 ) and N‐doped CoO composites with amorphous carbon (N‐CoO/C) are obtained. These N‐doped cobalt oxide materials with novel porous nanostructures and minimal oxygen vacancies show a high and stable activity for the oxygen evolution reaction. Moreover, the influence of calcination temperature, electrolyte concentration, and electrode substrate to the reaction are compared and analyzed. The results of experiments and density functional theory calculations demonstrate that N‐doping promotes the catalytic activity through improving electronic conductivity, increasing OH − adsorption strength, and accelerating reaction kinetics. Using a simple synthetic strategy, N‐Co3 O4 reserves the structural advantages of micro/nanostructured complexes, showing exciting potential as a catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction with good stability. Abstract : Taking advantage of the self‐assembling property of amino acids, N‐doped Co3 O4 nanostructures and N‐doped CoO composited with amorphous carbon are synthesized. Both materials show high, fine‐tunable surface areas and uniform pore structures. The N‐doping, oxygen vacancies, and unique nanostructure features lead to a competitive oxygen evolution reaction performance as well as good stability.