Co nanoparticles embedded N-doped hierarchical porous carbon matrix as an efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

• Published in: Journal of electroanalytical chemistry (Lausanne, Switzerland) Vol. 906; p. 116023
• Main Authors: Liu, Xiaoming, Zhang, Wendi, Liu, Xuan-He, Li, Kuangjun, Zhang, Xing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01-02-2022; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Carbon; Carbon nanotubes; Catalysts; Charge transfer; Chemical reduction; Co nanoparticles; Cobalt; Electrocatalyst; Electrocatalysts; Hierarchical porous structure; Mass transport; MOFs; Nanoparticles; Oxygen reduction reaction; Oxygen reduction reactions; Porous media; Structural hierarchy; ZIFs; Co nanoparticles; Electrocatalyst; MOFs; Hierarchical porous structure; Oxygen reduction reaction; ZIFs
• ISSN: 1572-6657; 1873-2569
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jelechem.2022.116023

•Co nanoparticles embedded N-doped hierarchical porous carbon matrix (Co@h-ZIF) were prepared.•Co@h-ZIF-800 exhibited more excellent oxygen reduction (ORR) performance than commercial Pt/C.•Maintained channels for O2 transport and efficient utilization of active sites facilitated ORR.
Co based catalysts are the promising substitutes for Pt/C catalysts in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, designing efficient Co based catalysts still remains a challenge due to many restrictions including charge transfer, mass transport and utilization of active sites, etc. Herein, Co nanoparticles embedded 3D-interconnected hierarchical porous (macro/meso/microporous) carbon matrixes with carbon nanotubes as building blocks (marked as Co@h-ZIF-800) were prepared. The prepared Co@h-ZIF-800 showed fast charge transfer and maintained the channels for continuous O2 transport. High surface area and efficient utilization of active sites also made Co@h-ZIF-800 exhibited excellent ORR performance with half-wave potential of 0.906 V (vs. RHE), 26 mV positive than commercial Pt/C. Our work can provide an effective strategy to explore efficient Co based electrocatalysts with hierarchical structure.