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The active site exploration of Co-based non-precious metal electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction

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Abstract

A kind of cobalt and nitrogen co-doped carbon catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is synthesized by pyrolyzing cobalt-melamine complexes supported on carbon at high temperature from 600 to 1000 °С. The optimum activity is obtained on Co0.25-N0.32/C-800 catalyst heat-treated at 800 °С, with the peak potential and onset potential of 0.826 and 0.930 V (vs. RHE), respectively. From the rotating disk electrode measurement using linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and Koutechy-Levich analysis, the overall electron number transferred for ORR catalyzed by the optimum catalyst Co0.25-N0.32/C-800 is determined to be 3.43–3.87, suggesting that the ORR catalyzed by Co0.25-N0.32/C-800 is dominated by a four-electron transfer process. The catalytic active site of the catalysts is explored by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The Co-N-C unit is the most efficient active site and responsible for the ORR activity enhancement in alkaline electrolyte. Accordingly, a possible ORR mechanism on the cobalt and nitrogen co-doped carbon catalyst is proposed.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Shanxi Province Natural Science Foundation in China (No. 2013011012-1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China

    Rong Zhang, Yuehua Li, Lu Liu, Mengxiu Jiang & Wenyang Wang

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  1. Rong Zhang
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  2. Yuehua Li
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  3. Lu Liu
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  4. Mengxiu Jiang
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Correspondence to Rong Zhang.

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Zhang, R., Li, Y., Liu, L. et al. The active site exploration of Co-based non-precious metal electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction. Ionics 23, 1849–1859 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-017-2012-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-017-2012-2

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