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Novel confinement combustion method of nanosized WC/C for efficient electrocatalytic oxygen reduction

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Abstract

Nanosized tungsten carbide (WC)/carbon (C) catalyst was synthesized via a novel ultra-rapid confinement combustion synthesis method. The amount of activated carbon (AC) plays an important role in the morphology and structure, controlling both the precursor and final powder. The WC particles synthesized inside the pores of the AC had been 10–20 nm because of the confinement of the pore structure and the large specific surface area of AC. When used for oxygen reduction performance, the half-wave potential was −0.24 V, and the electron transfer number was 3.45, indicating the main reaction process was the transfer of four electrons. The detailed electrocatalytic performance and underlying mechanism were investigated in this work. Our study provides a novel approach for the design of catalysts with new compositions and new structures, which are significant for promoting the commercialization of fuel cells.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2019M652169), the University Synergy Innovation Program of Anhui Province (No. GXXT-2019-016), the Natural Science Foundation of Anhui (No. JZ2018AKZR0063), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central University, China (No. PA2019GDPK0044).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, 230009, China

    Pengqi Chen, Yunxiao Tai, Huan Wu, Yufei Gao & Jigui Cheng

  2. National-Local Joint Engineering Research Centre of Nonferrous Metals and Processing Technology, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, 230009, China

    Pengqi Chen

  3. AECC Commercial Aircraft Engine Co., Ltd., Shanghai, 200241, China

    Jiayu Chen

  4. Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy Engineering and Technology of Anhui Province, Hefei, 230009, China

    Jigui Cheng

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  1. Pengqi Chen
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  2. Yunxiao Tai
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  5. Jiayu Chen
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Correspondence to Jigui Cheng.

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Chen, P., Tai, Y., Wu, H. et al. Novel confinement combustion method of nanosized WC/C for efficient electrocatalytic oxygen reduction. Int J Miner Metall Mater 29, 1627–1634 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-021-2265-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-021-2265-7

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