Metal-Organic Framework-Derived Atomically Dispersed Co-N-C Electrocatalyst for Efficient Oxygen Reduction Reaction
In this work, an atomically dispersed cobalt-nitrogen-carbon (Co-N-C) catalyst is prepared for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) by using a metal-organic framework (MOF) as a self-sacrifice template under high-temperature pyrolysis. Spherical aberration-corrected electron microscopy is employed to...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Catalysts |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/12/11/1462 |
| Summary: | In this work, an atomically dispersed cobalt-nitrogen-carbon (Co-N-C) catalyst is prepared for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) by using a metal-organic framework (MOF) as a self-sacrifice template under high-temperature pyrolysis. Spherical aberration-corrected electron microscopy is employed to confirm the atomic dispersion of high-density Co atoms on the nitrogen-doped carbon scaffold. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results verify the existence of Co-N-C active sites and their content changes with the Co content. The electrochemical results show that the electrocatalytic activity shows a volcano-shaped relationship, which increases with the Co content from 0 to 0.99 wt.% and then decreases when the presence of Co nanoparticles at 1.61 wt.%. The atomically dispersed Co-N-C catalyst with Co content of 0.99 wt.% shows an onset potential of 0.96 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and a half-wave potential of 0.89 V vs. RHE toward ORR. The excellent ORR activity is attributed to the high density of the Co-N-C sites with high intrinsic activity and high specific surface area to expose more active sites. |
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| ISSN: | 2073-4344 |