Construct N-doped carbon anchored CoFe alloy nanoparticles with high content graphitic-N for electrocatalytic oxygen reduction

Jirong Bai; Lei Cheng; Shuxin Liu; Yuebin Lian; Yaoyao Deng; Quanfa Zhou; Mei Xiang; Yawen Tang; Yaqiong Su

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.09.171

Construct N-doped carbon anchored CoFe alloy nanoparticles with high content graphitic-N for electrocatalytic oxygen reduction

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2024 Jan;653(Pt B):1785-1791. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.09.171. Epub 2023 Oct 5.

Authors

Jirong Bai¹, Lei Cheng², Shuxin Liu², Yuebin Lian³, Yaoyao Deng², Quanfa Zhou², Mei Xiang⁴, Yawen Tang⁵, Yaqiong Su⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Chemical Engineering and Materials, Changzhou Institute of Technology, Changzhou 213022, China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory of New Power Batteries, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China.
² School of Chemical Engineering and Materials, Changzhou Institute of Technology, Changzhou 213022, China.
³ School of Chemical Engineering and Materials, Changzhou Institute of Technology, Changzhou 213022, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁴ School of Chemical Engineering and Materials, Changzhou Institute of Technology, Changzhou 213022, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁵ Jiangsu Key Laboratory of New Power Batteries, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China.
⁶ School of Chemistry, Xi'an Key Laboratory of Sustainable Energy Materials Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, Shanxi, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 37806907
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.09.171

Abstract

Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is an essential half-reaction in next-generation energy storage and conversion systems, such as metal-air batteries and fuel cells. However, its practical application is restricted by the slow intrinsic kinetics, and the high price and low storage of noble metal electrocatalysts. Herein, unique CoFe nanoparticles encapsulated in N-doped carbon (CoFe-NC-Z8-900) with high content graphite-N derived from CoFe-g-C₃N₄@ZIF-8 via stepwise pyrolysis is reported as effective ORR catalysts. The increase of graphitic nitrogen content can enhance both the electrical conductivity and the adsorption of oxygen-containing intermediates, resulting in improved catalytic performance. Fortunately, CoFe-NC-Z8-900 exhibits an exceptionally high half-wave potential (E_1/2) of 0.914 V in a 0.1 M KOH solution. The excellent ORR electrocatalytic activity can be mainly attributed to the synergistic effect of the CoFe bimetal and the relatively high content of graphite-N. This study offers a unique method for creating powerful nitrogen-doped carbon coated metal nanoparticle electrocatalysts.

Keywords: CoFe alloy; High content graphitic-N; N-doped carbon; Oxygen reduction reaction; Synergistic effect.