Issue 46, 2017

Nitrogen and phosphorus co-doped hierarchically porous carbons derived from cattle bones as efficient metal-free electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction

Abstract

The development of highly efficient metal-free electrocatalysts towards the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is of vital importance for the large-scale application of fuel cell technologies. Herein, we demonstrate a facile and effective strategy for the controllable synthesis of nitrogen and phosphorus co-doped hierarchically porous carbon (N,P-HPC) electrocatalysts by pyrolyzing phytic acid (PA) and dicyandiamide (DCDA) with nitrogen-doped hierarchically porous carbon (NHPC) derived from cattle bones. The results show that optimal N and P co-doping plays an important role in enhancing the ORR catalytic activity of carbon-based electrocatalysts. The optimized N,P-HPC with a high content of N (3.2 at%) and P (4.0 at%) exhibits remarkable ORR activity with an onset potential of 0.924 V (comparable to commercial Pt/C), a half-wave potential of 0.853 V (12 mV higher than that of Pt/C) and a kinetic current density of 38.2 mA cm−2 at 0.8 V (1.9-times that of Pt/C) in alkaline electrolyte. Furthermore, the N,P-HPC electrocatalyst also demonstrates superior electrochemical stability and methanol tolerance in comparison with Pt/C. The excellent ORR performance of N,P-HPC can be attributed to the increased number of active sites, the favorable three-dimensional hierarchically porous structure and the large specific surface area (1516 m2 g−1). This attractive strategy opens a new avenue for the synthesis of highly efficient metal-free electrocatalysts for the ORR.

Graphical abstract: Nitrogen and phosphorus co-doped hierarchically porous carbons derived from cattle bones as efficient metal-free electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
02 Sep 2017
Accepted
30 Oct 2017
First published
14 Nov 2017

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2017,5, 24329-24334

Nitrogen and phosphorus co-doped hierarchically porous carbons derived from cattle bones as efficient metal-free electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction

Y. Zan, Z. Zhang, H. Liu, M. Dou and F. Wang, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2017, 5, 24329 DOI: 10.1039/C7TA07746G

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