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Waste paper derived Co, N co-doped carbon as an efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution

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Abstract

As a renewable resource, waste paper cannot only be recycled to paper, but also can be used as a new carbon source in the material field. In the present study, starting from the abundant and inexpensive materials, the three-dimensional (3D) framework cobalt (Co) and nitrogen (N) doped (Cox–N–C) electrocatalyst was successfully prepared using waste paper and urea via a facile hydrothermal treatment and ion adsorption process, followed by a further pyrolysis step. The experimental results show that the as-prepared Cox–N–C materials exhibit excellent electrocatalytic performance for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Especially, Co1.2–N–C sample has an outstanding HER catalytic activity with a 223 mV overpotential (at j = 10 mA cm−2), 91 mV dec−1 Tafel slope, and a remarkable long-term stability in 0.5 M H2SO4. Note that the abundant Co–N active sites are responsible for enhancing HER activity of Cox–N–C sample. It is expected that the low cost and highly efficient Co1.2–N–C electrocatalyst is a promising candidate to replace Pt noble catalysts.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (19ZR1420200), Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (14DZ2261000 and 19DZ2271100) and Shanghai Committee of Science and Technology (17DZ2282800).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Materials Protection and Advanced Materials in Electric Power, College of Environmental & Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Hao Sun, Lian Xue, Ying Shi, Jie Dong, Qiang Wu & Weifeng Yao

  2. Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Weifeng Yao

  3. Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Heat-Exchange System and Energy Saving, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Weifeng Yao

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  1. Hao Sun
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  2. Lian Xue
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  3. Ying Shi
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  4. Jie Dong
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  6. Weifeng Yao
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Correspondence to Weifeng Yao.

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Sun, H., Xue, L., Shi, Y. et al. Waste paper derived Co, N co-doped carbon as an efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution. Reac Kinet Mech Cat 132, 1137–1150 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11144-021-01956-3

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