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Cobalt nanoparticles embedded in nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes for efficient catalysis of oxygen reduction reaction

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Abstract

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is a key process to limit the property of the metal-air batteries. In this paper, cobalt nanoparticles embedded in nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (Co-NCNTs) were designed and prepared by pyrolysis of Co-based metal–organic frameworks and cyanoguanidine under an Ar–H2 atmosphere. The relationship between the morphology and electrocatalytic activity toward ORR was discussed using a variety of physical characterization and electrochemical methods. The obtained Co-NCNT with 3.39 at% nitrogen has a diameter of 30–50 nm. Electrochemical activities of these Co-NCNTs toward ORR in KOH solution were characterized by cyclic voltammetry and rotating disk electrode (RDE) methods. The Co-NCNTs catalysts were also estimated for their stability and methanol-tolerant performance by chronoamperometry in the presence of oxygen. Experimental results display that the onset potential, half-wave potential, Tafel slope and the transferred electron number are 0.95 V (vs. RHE), 0.747 V (vs. RHE), 110.6 mV decade−1 and close to 3, respectively. Moreover, the optimized Co-NCNT has an outstanding durability compared with the commercial Pt/C. This work affords a simple approach for exploring low-cost electrocatalysts with practical performance for metal-air batteries.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51474255), the Fundamental Research Funds of Central South University (Grant No. 2018zzts056), the Open Research Fund Program of Key Laboratory (Central South University), Ministry of Education and the Hunan Provincial Science and Technology Plan Project, China (Grant No. 2016TP1007).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China

    Yafei Zhang, Xiang Yin, Hao Jiang, Jiayu Hao, Yanqiu Wang, Jiawen Yu, Yang Liu & Jie Li

  2. Division of Scientific Research Management, Chongqing University of Education, Chongqing, 400065, China

    Dongwei Li

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  1. Yafei Zhang
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Correspondence to Yang Liu or Jie Li.

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Supporting Information

SEM images of Co-NCNT-800-3 and Co-NCNT-800-5. (DOCX 1148 kb)

Supplementary material 2 (DOCX 17 kb)

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Zhang, Y., Yin, X., Jiang, H. et al. Cobalt nanoparticles embedded in nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes for efficient catalysis of oxygen reduction reaction. J IRAN CHEM SOC 16, 2575–2585 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13738-019-01722-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13738-019-01722-2

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