Nitrogen-coordinated single-atom catalysts with manganese and cobalt sites for acidic oxygen reduction. Issue 11 (23rd November 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chao, Guojie; Zhang, Yizhe; Zhang, Longsheng; Zong, Wei; Zhang, Nan; Xue, Tiantian; Fan, Wei; Liu, Tianxi; Xie, Yi
• Is Part Of: Journal of materials chemistry. Volume 10:Issue 11(2022)
• Page Start: 5930
• Page End: 5936
• Publication Date: 2021-11-23
• Subjects: Materials -- Research -- Periodicals; Chemistry, Analytic -- Periodicals; Environmental sciences -- Research -- Periodicals; 543.0284
• DOI: 10.1039/d1ta08029f
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2050-7488

Abstract

Abstract : Improved catalytic durability towards acidic oxygen reduction reaction is achieved by using a Pt-free and Fe-free single-atom catalyst based on Mn, Co and N co-doped carbon (MnCo–N–C), compared with a Co and N co-doped carbon (Co–N–C) catalyst. Abstract : Developing a low-cost, highly active and durable catalyst for acidic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is of significant importance for proton-exchange electrolyte membrane fuel cell. In this work, we report an efficient catalyst based on Mn, Co and N co-doped carbon (MnCo–N–C) for acidic ORR. Electron microscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy indicate that atomic CoN x and MnN x sites are dispersed in the carbon matrices of MnCo–N–C. Raman spectroscopy verifies that the doping of Mn into carbon matrices can enable a higher graphitization degree, which can improve the corrosion resistance and catalytic durability of the MnCo–N–C catalyst towards ORR in challenging acidic media. As a result, the MnCo–N–C catalyst exhibits significantly improved ORR durability with a higher current retention of 81% after 50 h of test compared with that (52%) of the Co–N–C catalyst. Moreover, the half-wave potential of the MnCo–N–C catalyst increases by 100 mV compared with that of the Co–N–C catalyst.