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Facile synthesis of nitrogen, sulfur dual-doped porous carbon via carbonization of coal tar pitch and MgCl2·6H2O for oxygen reduction reaction

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Abstract

Developing heteroatom-doped carbon catalysts toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) to replace platinum (Pt)-based catalysts is a promising strategy. Herein, nitrogen (N), sulfur (S) dual-doped porous carbons (NS@C-x-y) were prepared via a one-step carbonization of the mixture of acid treatment coal tar pitch (CTP) and MgCl2·6H2O, through in situ self-generating MgO template route. N and S were successfully introduced into the carbon framework of CTP by mixed acid treatment, leading to N, S co-doping especially pyridinic-N, graphitic-N, and C-S-C as ORR active sites. Benefiting from the fluffy lump graphitic structure, large surface areas, and synergistic effect between N and S electrocatalytic sites, the resulting samples demonstrate superior ORR performances with the highest diffusion-limited current density of 5.97 mA cm−2 and half-wave potential of 0.82 V (vs. RHE), long-term stability, and excellent methanol tolerance in alkaline medium, which are competitive with Pt/C catalyst.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project 21676080).

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  1. School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China

    Dai Yu, Lihui Zhou, Jun Hu, Changjun Peng & Honglai Liu

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  1. Dai Yu
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Correspondence to Lihui Zhou.

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Yu, D., Zhou, L., Hu, J. et al. Facile synthesis of nitrogen, sulfur dual-doped porous carbon via carbonization of coal tar pitch and MgCl2·6H2O for oxygen reduction reaction. J Solid State Electrochem 23, 2455–2464 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-019-04330-5

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