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Lewis doping strategy to synthesize Fe–N–C catalysts with high density of available active sites for oxygen reduction reactions

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Abstract

In recent years, non-noble metal catalysts such as Fe–N–C have received a lot of interest due to their excellent oxygen reduction (ORR) activity. However, the active sites of Fe–N–C still need to be further improved. Here, by adopting Lewis doping and double nitrogen source strategies to increase the density of accessible active sites, the catalyst exhibits excellent ORR activity. The ORR half-wave potential (E1/2) in 0.1 mol/L KOH solution can reach 0.92 V (vs. RHE), and the maximum power density of the Zn–air battery with Fe–N–C@MA-950 as the air electrode can reach 220 mW cm−2. The strategies provide a novel approach to the design of carbon-based catalysts for efficient energy conversion.

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Data and code availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [Qinghong Huang], upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the partial financial support from the Natural Science Foundation of China (22279054).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211816, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Jianan Zhao, Shanshan Sun, Yuqing Li, Wenbin Tang, Qinghong Huang, Nengfei Yu & Yuping Wu

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  1. Jianan Zhao
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  2. Shanshan Sun
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  3. Yuqing Li
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  5. Qinghong Huang
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Contributions

JZ contributed to writing—original draft, experimental design, data collection, and writing—review & editing. SS contributed to data curation and experimental guidance. QH contributed to the scientific conception, funding acquisition, supervision, and writing—review and editing. YL contributed to data analysis. WT contributed to formal analysis. YW and NY contributed to validation.

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Correspondence to Qinghong Huang.

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Zhao, J., Sun, S., Li, Y. et al. Lewis doping strategy to synthesize Fe–N–C catalysts with high density of available active sites for oxygen reduction reactions. J Mater Sci 58, 17188–17199 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-023-09098-8

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