MnO/氮掺杂石墨烯复合正极材料在锂空气电池中的高效催化性能研究

本文采用水热法制备了MnO/氮掺杂石墨烯复合材料.作为非水锂空气电池的正极催化剂,该复合材料表现出了优异的电化学性能以及循环稳定性.在充放电电流密度为0.05 mA cm~(-2)时,其能量效率高达84.6%,远高于目前文献所报道的非贵金属催化剂的能量效率,也超过了基于贵金属的催化剂.其氧还原反应(ORR)和氧析出反应(OER)的过电势分别仅为0.11和0.41 V.扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和透射电子显微镜(TEM)结果表明,所制备的MnO纳米颗粒能够均匀地分散在氮掺杂石墨烯的表面.密度泛函理论(DFT)计算揭示,MnO(100)面是主要的催化活性面,其理论ORR和OER的过电势分别仅为0.21与0.24 V,充放电电势差为0.45V,与实验结果0.52 V相当.     

用于氧还原反应的双原子钴-铁催化剂（英文）

金属-空气电池因其高效率和便携性受到广泛关注.然而,氧还原反应(ORR)的高能垒和缓慢的动力学导致其输出功率低.尽管贵金属铂基材料具有较高的ORR活性,但其在工业上的大规模应用受到高成本的制约.因此,迫切需要以储量丰富的非贵金属为原料,开发具有低成本、高性能和耐用性的催化剂.近年来,单原子过渡金属与氮共掺杂碳材料(M-N-C)成为替代贵金属催化剂的理想材料.理论模拟和实验结果均表明,单原子Fe/Co-N-C催化剂具有良好的ORR活性,其中FeN₄和CoN₄构型被认为是主要活性位点.此外,含有相邻金属位点的双金属单原子催化剂具有加速ORR动力学的巨大潜力.通过对ORR中间体的桥式-顺式吸附,双金属位点可以促进O-O键的裂解,从而提高催化活性.除固有活性外,双金属位点可减少ORR过程中含氧中间体对M-N键的攻击,提高M-N-C对ORR的耐久性和工业应用潜力.因此,近年来,研究者开始探索双金属单原子催化剂的合成和电催化性能,发现Fe-Co, Fe-Mn, Fe-Cu, Co-Zn和Co-Pt双位点可以有效催化ORR.为进一步提高ORR活性,需要合理...     

V2CO2 MXene负载过渡金属单原子催化剂氧还原和氢氧化活性的DFT研究

开发廉价且高性能的电催化剂对推动燃料电池的商业应用具有重要意义.二维(2D) MXenes和单原子(SAs)催化剂是催化研究中的两个前沿领域.2D MXenes材料具有独特的几何和电子结构,能够有效调节负载SAs的催化性能.而负载的SAs又会反过来影响2D MXenes材料的本征活性,使2D MXenes形成更加丰富的活性位,进而提升其催化性能.为了拓展2D负载SAs催化剂在燃料电池中的应用,本文采用密度泛函理论(DFT)计算,系统地研究了V2CO2 MXenes负载过渡金属(TM,包括一系列3d、部分4d和5d金属)SAs催化剂的稳定结构、电子结构及其催化氧还原(ORR)和氢氧化(HOR)的催化活性,并筛选出潜在的可替代贵金属铂的ORR/HOR的双功能催化剂.稳定结构计算结果表明,3d TM SAs倾向于以锚定的形式负载于V2CO2表面与O原子作用,而4d,5d TM原子倾向于以掺杂的形式负载于含氧空穴的V2CO2表面与V原子作用;同时,Sc,Ti,V,Rh,Pd,Pt,Ag和Au SAs在V2CO2表面因具有较高扩散能垒,不易团聚,具有较高的热力学稳定性.电子结构计算结果表明,锚定型的TM SAs与O形成共价键,伴随发生明显的电荷转移,带较多正电荷;掺杂型的TM SAs与V形成金属键,因TM-V和V-O键间电荷转移的协同影响,导致TM SAs仅带有少量的电荷.TM-V2CO2电子结构与ORR/HOR中间物种的吸附关系为,TM位点为ORR中间物种(O,OH和OOH)的吸附位点,且d电子数为1、5、10的TM比其他TM对ORR物种的吸附更弱;而TM-V2CO2表面的O原子为HOR中间物种(H)的有效吸附位点,且H的吸附强弱与O位点的电荷有关,即O位点负电荷越多,对H的吸附越弱.TM-V2CO2催化剂各活性位对ORR和HOR反应物种的选择性吸附结果表明,催化剂有利于形成丰富多样的活性位,并具备作为双功能催化剂的内在优势.TM-V2CO2催化剂ORR和HOR理论活性筛选发现:与Pt(111)相比,Sc-、Mn-、Rh-和Pt-V2CO2具有较高的ORR活性,而Sc-、Ti-、V-、Cr-和Mn-V2CO2表现出较高的HOR活性.其中,Sc-V2CO2和Mn-V2CO2因同时具有较高的ORR和HOR活性和稳定性,有望成为高效和低成本的燃料电池双功能催化剂.本文从研究TM-V2CO2性质和活性出发,深入研究了SAs与2D MXenes间相互作用及其对ORR与HOR催化活性的影响机制,筛选出了高效、低成本的ORR/HOR双功能催化剂,为合理设计燃料电池双功能催化剂提供了理论指导.     

富含吡啶氮-钴活性位点的三维多级大/介孔石墨烯作为高效可逆氧电催化剂用于可充电锌-空气电池（英文）

随着能源危机的日益严峻,能源的储存和转换越来越受到人们的重视.目前人们加以开发和利用的清洁能源主要包括太阳能、风能、氢能、地热能以及电化学能等.其中,燃料电池和金属-空气电池等作为电化学器件为电化学能的开发及可持续利用提供了条件.特别是金属-空气电池以电极电位较负的金属如镁、铝、锌、铁等作负极,以空气中的氧或纯氧作正极,具有比能量高、性能稳定、价格便宜的特点.氧还原反应(ORR)和析氧反应(OER)是可再生电化学能量转换和储存过程中的两个关键电化学过程.贵金属(Pt/C, Ir/C, IrO2等)虽然具有高催化活性,但价格昂贵、资源匮乏限制了其大规模的使用和发展.此外,它们的催化性能单一,难以同时实现多反应的高效催化.目前,大量研究工作集中在开发低成本、高效的ORR和OER催化剂,用来代替昂贵的铂类贵金属催化剂.在能源器件设计中,由于OER和ORR反应发生在同一个电极上,若能制备出具有ORR和OER双功能催化性能的电催化剂,将在很大程度上降低能源器件的设计难度.最近,我们的研究工作揭示了吡啶-氮-钴(pyri-N-Co)配位结构在协同作用中的重要性,协同作用大幅度提升了NiCo2O4/N掺杂石墨烯的本征催化活性.虽然金属粒子与掺氮石墨烯的结合有利于催化活性和稳定性的提高,但二维石墨烯片之间由于π-π键相互作用,容易聚集和堆叠.在实际应用中,石墨烯片之间的堆叠会导致可达表面的损失,从而使复合催化剂利用率降低,结构稳定性变差.因此,制备富含充分暴露且高效的ORR/OER活性中心的电催化剂仍然是一个巨大挑战.本文采用激光辐照法和水热法制备了具有层间大孔和片内介孔相互交联结构且负载铁酸钴纳米颗粒的三维多级孔石墨烯复合电催化剂(CoFe/3D-NLG),研究了其微观结构与ORR/OER电催化性能的关系.比表面积和X射线光电子能谱测试结果表明, CoFe/3D-NLG具有大的比表面积(322.6 m2g-1)和孔体积(0.715 cm3g-1),并且富含吡啶氮-钴活性中心.电化学测试表明,对于OER电催化, CoFe/3D-NLG复合催化剂在10 mAcm-2处的过电势为304 mV,优于商用Ru O2催化剂的322 mV;对于ORR电催化, CoFe/3D-NLG的半波电位达到872 mV,非常接近商用Pt/C催化剂(876 mV).此外,作为可充电锌空气电池的空气电极催化剂, CoFe/3D-NLG展现出了超高的开路电压(1.56 V)、高功率密度(213 mWcm-2)以及超低充放电电压(0.63 V),并且具有良好的充放电循环稳定性.CoFe/3D-NLG优异的ORR/OER电催化性能主要归因于以下两点:1)大量的吡啶氮-钴活性位点极大地加快了缓慢的氧电催化动力学,提高了每个活性位点的ORR/OER本征催化活性;2)丰富的层间大孔和面内介孔多级孔结构促进了整个石墨烯结构中的高效传质,因而在电催化过程中吡啶氮-钴活性位点得以充分暴露于电解液中.     

V_2CO_2 MXene负载过渡金属单原子催化剂氧还原和氢氧化活性的DFT研究（英文）

开发廉价且高性能的电催化剂对推动燃料电池的商业应用具有重要意义.二维(2D) MXenes和单原子(SAs)催化剂是催化研究中的两个前沿领域.2D MXenes材料具有独特的几何和电子结构,能够有效调节负载SAs的催化性能.而负载的SAs又会反过来影响2D MXenes材料的本征活性,使2D MXenes形成更加丰富的活性位,进而提升其催化性能.为了拓展2D负载SAs催化剂在燃料电池中的应用,本文采用密度泛函理论(DFT)计算,系统地研究了V_2CO_2 MXenes负载过渡金属(TM,包括一系列3d、部分4d和5d金属) SAs催化剂的稳定结构、电子结构及其催化氧还原(ORR)和氢氧化(HOR)的催化活性,并筛选出潜在的可替代贵金属铂的ORR/HOR的双功能催化剂.稳定结构计算结果表明,3d TM SAs倾向于以锚定的形式负载于V_2CO_2表面与O原子作用,而4d,5d TM原子倾向于以掺杂的形式负载于含氧空穴的V_2CO_2表面与V原子作用;同时,Sc,Ti,V,Rh,Pd,Pt,Ag和Au SAs在V_2CO_2表面因具有较高扩散能垒,不易团聚,具有较高的热力学稳定性.电子结构计算结果表明,锚定型的TM SAs与O形成共价键,伴随发生明显的电荷转移,带较多正电荷;掺杂型的TM SAs与V形成金属键,因TM-V和V-O键间电荷转移的协同影响,导致TM SAs仅带有少量的电荷.TM-V_2CO_2电子结构与ORR/HOR中间物种的吸附关系为,TM位点为ORR中间物种(O,OH和OOH)的吸附位点,且d电子数为1、5、10的TM比其他TM对ORR物种的吸附更弱;而TM-V_2CO_2表面的O原子为HOR中间物种(H)的有效吸附位点,且H的吸附强弱与O位点的电荷有关,即O位点负电荷越多,对H的吸附越弱.TM-V_2CO_2催化剂各活性位对ORR和HOR反应物种的选择性吸附结果表明,催化剂有利于形成丰富多样的活性位,并具备作为双功能催化剂的内在优势.TM-V_2CO_2催化剂ORR和HOR理论活性筛选发现:与Pt(111)相比,Sc-、Mn-、Rh-和Pt-V_2CO_2具有较高的ORR活性,而Sc-、Ti-、V-、Cr-和Mn-V_2CO_2表现出较高的HOR活性.其中,Sc-V_2CO_2和Mn-V_2CO_2因同时具有较高的ORR和HOR活性和稳定性,有望成为高效和低成本的燃料电池双功能催化剂.本文从研究TM-V_2CO_2性质和活性出发,深入研究了SAs与2D MXenes间相互作用及其对ORR与HOR催化活性的影响机制,筛选出了高效、低成本的ORR/HOR双功能催化剂,为合理设计燃料电池双功能催化剂提供了理论指导.     

石墨烯负载超薄二硫化钼杂化材料的电催化析氢性能

以磷钼酸和L-半胱氨酸作为前驱体,还原氧化石墨烯作为载体,采用水热法一步合成了超薄二硫化钼/还原氧化石墨烯杂化材料(UT-MoS_2/rGO)。作为电催化析氢(HER)非贵金属催化剂,对其结构特征和在0.5 mol·L-1H2SO4溶液中氧化还原反应的催化性能进行表征。结果显示,得益于UT-MoS_2暴露的丰富活性位点、导电rGO片的稳定支撑以及MoS_2与rGO的良好结合,UT-MoS_2/rGO显示了优异的电催化性能。其起始过电势为-66 mV;电流密度为-10 mA·cm-2时过电势为-145 mV,Tafel斜率为42.9 mV·dec-1;交流阻抗为0.76Ω;在0.1～0.2 V范围内循环伏安测试1000次后,其催化活性仍能保持98%。     

MOF(Fe)的制备及其氧气还原催化性能

以硝酸铁为金属离子前驱体、均苯三甲酸为有机配体,采用水热法合成了金属有机骨架MOF(Fe)催化剂,应用X射线衍射、N2吸附-脱附、透射电镜、红外光谱和热重等方法对催化剂的结构进行了表征,并采用循环伏安法测试了催化剂在碱性电解质中的氧气还原(ORR)催化性能,同时也采用旋转圆盘电极进一步研究了催化剂的ORR的动力学行为.结果表明,所制MOF(Fe)具有很好的晶型结构、大比表面积、丰富的微孔以及较高的热稳定性.且表现出很好的ORR催化活性.ORR的反应历程随电位的改变而改变:电位在–0.3到0.50 V范围内,ORR为2电子途径;随着电位从–0.50 V升至–0.95 V,ORR从2电子向4电子途径转变.另外,该催化剂在碱性电解质中也表现出较好的氧气析出(OER)催化性能,这为制备用于ORR和OER的高效非贵金属催化剂提供了新的途径.     

FeCl3模板辅助法由质子盐制备氮、硫、铁三掺杂碳纳米片及其催化氧还原反应

作为一种新型能源技术,燃料电池具有能源转化效率高、燃料可再生、运行安全清洁等优点,因而在应对全球持续增长的能源、环境问题方面受到广泛的研究.但是,燃料电池的阴极氧还原反应(ORR)存在动力学缓慢的固有特性,其反应过电位高,需要在催化剂的辅助下才能顺利发生反应并提供足够的电极电势.目前ORR催化性能最优的是铂基催化剂,但其存在着资源稀缺、价格昂贵、循环寿命差等缺陷,这也是制约燃料电池商业化应用的主要因素.因而要想实现燃料电池的大规模应用,寻找新的可替代铂基催化剂、且储量丰富、价格低廉的优秀ORR催化剂成为了研究的热点.近几年来,杂原子掺杂的碳材料以其价格低、催化性能卓越、优异的稳定性和抗甲醇性能等优点,逐渐发展成为最有前景的ORR催化剂.本文以FeCl3为模板和铁源,质子盐对苯二胺(PPS)为碳、氮、硫源,采用简单的一步中和法制备氮、硫、铁三掺杂的二维介孔碳纳米片催化剂(NSFC).TEM和BET结果显示,FeCl3不仅起到了二维模板的作用,同时在热处理过程中与无定形碳发生作用形成了丰富的介孔,大大提高了材料的比表面积和结构开放性,为ORR反应提供了反应场所.XPS结果显示,质子盐中和合成法不仅有效地简化了NSFC的合成步骤,而且能够灵活地控制材料的元素组成,实现了氮和硫的原位掺杂,有效构筑了杂原子掺杂活性位;同时FeCl3也为催化剂材料引入了Fe元素,进而形成催化活性更加优异的Fe-Nx活性位.电化学测试结果表明,通过调整FeCl3和PPS的比例,NSFC-3催化剂材料在结构形貌和表面功能达到了同时最优化,获得了与商业30 wt%Pt/C可比的催化性能,其起始电位和极限电流密度分别达到了–0.03 V和5.05 mA/cm2,同时NSFC-3具有优于商业30 wt%Pt/C的催化选择性、稳定性和抗甲醇性能.这源于稳定的二维纳米片层结构、丰富的表面介孔结构、大的比表面积和活性位点暴露率以及多种催化活性位点的协同催化效应.     

FeCl_3模板辅助法由质子盐制备氮、硫、铁三掺杂碳纳米片及其催化氧还原反应（英文）

作为一种新型能源技术,燃料电池具有能源转化效率高、燃料可再生、运行安全清洁等优点,因而在应对全球持续增长的能源、环境问题方面受到广泛的研究.但是,燃料电池的阴极氧还原反应(ORR)存在动力学缓慢的固有特性,其反应过电位高,需要在催化剂的辅助下才能顺利发生反应并提供足够的电极电势.目前ORR催化性能最优的是铂基催化剂,但其存在着资源稀缺、价格昂贵、循环寿命差等缺陷,这也是制约燃料电池商业化应用的主要因素.因而要想实现燃料电池的大规模应用,寻找新的可替代铂基催化剂、且储量丰富、价格低廉的优秀ORR催化剂成为了研究的热点.近几年来,杂原子掺杂的碳材料以其价格低、催化性能卓越、优异的稳定性和抗甲醇性能等优点,逐渐发展成为最有前景的ORR催化剂.本文以FeCl_3为模板和铁源,质子盐对苯二胺(PPS)为碳、氮、硫源,采用简单的一步中和法制备氮、硫、铁三掺杂的二维介孔碳纳米片催化剂(NSFC).TEM和BET结果显示,Fe Cl3不仅起到了二维模板的作用,同时在热处理过程中与无定形碳发生作用形成了丰富的介孔,大大提高了材料的比表面积和结构开放性,为ORR反应提供了反应场所.XPS结果显示,质子盐中和合成法不仅有效地简化了NSFC的合成步骤,而且能够灵活地控制材料的元素组成,实现了氮和硫的原位掺杂,有效构筑了杂原子掺杂活性位;同时FeCl_3也为催化剂材料引入了Fe元素,进而形成催化活性更加优异的Fe-Nx活性位.电化学测试结果表明,通过调整FeC l3和PPS的比例,NSFC-3催化剂材料在结构形貌和表面功能达到了同时最优化,获得了与商业30 wt%Pt/C可比的催化性能,其起始电位和极限电流密度分别达到了–0.03 V和5.05 mA/cm2,同时NSFC-3具有优于商业30wt%Pt/C的催化选择性、稳定性和抗甲醇性能.这源于稳定的二维纳米片层结构、丰富的表面介孔结构、大的比表面积和活性位点暴露率以及多种催化活性位点的协同催化效应.     

富含吡啶氮-钴活性位点的三维多级大/介孔石墨烯作为高效可逆氧电催化剂用于可充电锌-空气电池

随着能源危机的日益严峻,能源的储存和转换越来越受到人们的重视.目前人们加以开发和利用的清洁能源主要包括太阳能、风能、氢能、地热能以及电化学能等.其中,燃料电池和金属-空气电池等作为电化学器件为电化学能的开发及可持续利用提供了条件.特别是金属-空气电池以电极电位较负的金属如镁、铝、锌、铁等作负极,以空气中的氧或纯氧作正极,具有比能量高、性能稳定、价格便宜的特点.氧还原反应(ORR)和析氧反应(OER)是可再生电化学能量转换和储存过程中的两个关键电化学过程.贵金属(Pt/C,Ir/C,IrO₂等)虽然具有高催化活性,但价格昂贵、资源匮乏限制了其大规模的使用和发展.此外,它们的催化性能单一,难以同时实现多反应的高效催化.目前,大量研究工作集中在开发低成本、高效的ORR和OER催化剂,用来代替昂贵的铂类贵金属催化剂.在能源器件设计中,由于OER和ORR反应发生在同一个电极上,若能制备出具有ORR和OER双功能催化性能的电催化剂,将在很大程度上降低能源器件的设计难度.最近,我们的研究工作揭示了吡啶-氮-钴(pyri-N-Co)配位结构在协同作用中的重要性,协同作用大幅度提升了NiCo2O4/N掺杂石墨烯的本征催化活性.虽然金属粒子与掺氮石墨烯的结合有利于催化活性和稳定性的提高,但二维石墨烯片之间由于π-π键相互作用,容易聚集和堆叠.在实际应用中,石墨烯片之间的堆叠会导致可达表面的损失,从而使复合催化剂利用率降低,结构稳定性变差.因此,制备富含充分暴露且高效的ORR/OER活性中心的电催化剂仍然是一个巨大挑战.本文采用激光辐照法和水热法制备了具有层间大孔和片内介孔相互交联结构且负载铁酸钴纳米颗粒的三维多级孔石墨烯复合电催化剂(CoFe/3D-NLG),研究了其微观结构与ORR/OER电催化性能的关系.比表面积和X射线光电子能谱测试结果表明,CoFe/3D-NLG具有大的比表面积(322.6 m² g^-1)和孔体积(0.715 cm³ g^-1),并且富含吡啶氮-钴活性中心.电化学测试表明,对于OER电催化,CoFe/3D-NLG复合催化剂在10 mA cm_-2处的过电势为304 mV,优于商用RuO₂催化剂的322 mV;对于ORR电催化,CoFe/3D-NLG的半波电位达到872 mV,非常接近商用Pt/C催化剂(876 mV).此外,作为可充电锌空气电池的空气电极催化剂,CoFe/3D-NLG展现出了超高的开路电压(1.56 V)、高功率密度(213 mW cm_-2)以及超低充放电电压(0.63 V),并且具有良好的充放电循环稳定性.CoFe/3D-NLG优异的ORR/OER电催化性能主要归因于以下两点:1)大量的吡啶氮-钴活性位点极大地加快了缓慢的氧电催化动力学,提高了每个活性位点的ORR/OER本征催化活性;2)丰富的层间大孔和面内介孔多级孔结构促进了整个石墨烯结构中的高效传质,因而在电催化过程中吡啶氮-钴活性位点得以充分暴露于电解液中.     

Heterocyclization Strategy for Construction of Linear Conjugated Polymers: Efficient Metal‐Free Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction

Exploring cost‐effective and efficient metal‐free electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is crucial for the development of energy conversion and storage technologies. Reported here is a novel heterocyclization strategy to construct efficient ORR catalysts based on linear conjugated polymers (LCPs), which are composed of N‐, S‐, or Se‐heterocycles. Among these polymers, the covalently linked pyridine and thiophene molecule ( P‐T ) with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) exhibits a remarkable half‐wave potential of 0.79 V (vs. RHE) and excellent electrochemical stability, which are among the highest values for metal‐free polymers as ORR catalysts. Density‐functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the molecule with a phenyl unit ( P‐Ph ) is catalytically inactive, and when a thiophene unit is introduced to replace the phenyl unit in the conjugated backbone it features highly efficient electrocatalytic active sites. More importantly, the well‐defined molecular structures and controllable active sites in the pyrolysis and metal‐free polymers highlight new opportunities for the catalytic metal‐free ORR.     

Cu Nanoparticles Embedded in N‐Doped Carbon Materials for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Development of eco‐friendly, cost‐effective, and high‐performance electrocatalysts to replace precious metal platinum for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) has received increasing attention. Herein, we adopt a facile one‐pot strategy to embed Cu nanoparticles onto N‐doped carbon‐graphene (Cu@NC‐700). The Cu@NC‐700 exhibits robust and efficient ORR catalysis with positive half‐wave potential (~0.86 V vs. RHE) and low Tafel slope (33.9 mV?dec^–1) in 0.1 M KOH solution. Meanwhile, it manifests remarkable electrochemical stability, and strong tolerance to methanol crossover and carbon monoxide poisoning. The synergistic effect between Cu‐N‐C sites, Cu nanoparticles, and N‐doped carbon support speeds up ORR electrocatalysis.     

Boosting ORR Catalytic Activity by Integrating Pyridine‐N Dopants,a High Degree of Graphitization,and Hierarchical Pores into a MOF‐Derived N‐Doped Carbon in a Tandem Synthesis

N‐doped carbon materials represent promising metal‐free electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), the cathode reaction in fuel cells, metal–air batteries, and so on. A challenge for optimizing the ORR catalytic activities of these electrocatalysts is to tune their local structures and chemical compositions in a rational and controlled way that can achieve the synergistic function of each factor. Herein, we report a tandem synthetic strategy that integrates multiple contributing factors into an N‐doped carbon. With an N‐containing MOF (ZIF‐8) as the precursor, carbonization at higher temperatures leads to a higher degree of graphitization. Subsequent NH₃ etching of this highly graphitic carbon enabled the introduction of a higher content of pyridine‐N sites and higher porosity. By optimizing these three factors, the resultant carbon materials displayed ORR activity that was far superior to that of carbon derived from a one‐step pyrolysis. The onset potential of 0.955 V versus a reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and the half‐wave potential of 0.835 V versus RHE are among the top ranks of metal‐free ORR catalysts and are comparable to commercial Pt/C (20 wt %) catalysts. Kinetic studies revealed lower H₂O₂ yields, higher electron‐transfer numbers, and lower Tafel slopes for these carbon materials compared with that derived from a one‐step carbonization. These findings verify the effectiveness of this tandem synthetic strategy to enhance the ORR activity of N‐doped carbon materials.     

A Nitrogen,Sulfur co-Doped Porphyrin-based Covalent Organic Framework as an Efficient Catalyst for Oxygen Reduction

Oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) is a significant reaction for energy conversion systems(such as fuel cells, metal-air batteries, etc.). It is an urgent need to develop cheap, durable and highly-active catalysts for efficient ORR. Hence, we report a metal-free nitrogen and sulfur co-doped porphyrin-based covalent organic framework(COF) as a high-efficiency ORR catalyst[the onset potential(E_o) is 0.79 V and the half-wave potential(E_1/2) is 0.70 V]. The double doping of N and S atoms causes uneven charge distribution around carbon atoms, which can act as catalytic active centers, improving ORR activity. Compared with single-atom doping, double atoms doping exhibits a higher activity due to the synergistic effect between different elements. These results demonstrate that reasonable design of stable metal-free COFs with a high electrochemical activity can promote their wide applications.     

High Catalytic Activity of Nitrogen and Sulfur Co‐Doped Nanoporous Graphene in the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Chemical doping has been demonstrated to be an effective way to realize new functions of graphene as metal‐free catalyst in energy‐related electrochemical reactions. Although efficient catalysis for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) has been achieved with doped graphene, its performance in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is rather poor. In this study we report that nitrogen and sulfur co‐doping leads to high catalytic activity of nanoporous graphene in HER at low operating potential, comparable to the best Pt‐free HER catalyst, 2D MoS₂. The interplay between the chemical dopants and geometric lattice defects of the nanoporous graphene plays the fundamental role in the superior HER catalysis.     

Single‐Atom Iron Catalysts on Overhang‐Eave Carbon Cages for High‐Performance Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Single‐atom catalysts have drawn great attention, especially in electrocatalysis. However, most of previous works focus on the enhanced catalytic properties via improving metal loading. Engineering morphologies of catalysts to facilitate mass transport through catalyst layers, thus increasing the utilization of each active site, is regarded as an appealing way for enhanced performance. Herein, we design an overhang‐eave structure decorated with isolated single‐atom iron sites via a silica‐mediated MOF‐templated approach for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysis. This catalyst demonstrates superior ORR performance in both alkaline and acidic electrolytes, comparable to the state‐of‐the‐art Pt/C catalyst and superior to most precious‐metal‐free catalysts reported to date. This activity originates from its edge‐rich structure, having more three‐phase boundaries with enhanced mass transport of reactants to accessible single‐atom iron sites (increasing the utilization of active sites), which verifies the practicability of such a synthetic approach.     

Bamboo‐Like Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Nanotubes with Co Nanoparticles Encapsulated at the Tips: Uniform and Large‐Scale Synthesis and High‐Performance Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction

In recent years, various non‐precious metal electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) have been extensively investigated. The development of an efficient and simple method to synthesize non‐precious metal catalysts with ORR activity superior to that of Pt is extremely significant for large‐scale applications of fuel cells. Here, we develop a facile, low‐cost, and large‐scale synthesis method for uniform nitrogen‐doped (N‐doped) bamboo‐like CNTs (NBCNT) with Co nanoparticles encapsulated at the tips by annealing a mixture of cobalt acetate and melamine. The uniform NBCNT shows better ORR catalytic activity and higher stability in alkaline solutions as compared with commercial Pt/C and comparable catalytic activity to Pt/C in acidic media. NBCNTs exhibit outstanding ORR catalytic activity due to high defect density, uniform bamboo‐like structure, and the synergistic effect between the Co nanoparticles and protective graphitic layers. This facile method to synthesize catalysts, which is amenable to the large‐scale commercialization of fuel cells, will open a new avenue for the development of low‐cost and high‐performance ORR catalysts to replace Pt‐based catalysts for applications in energy conversion.     

Understanding the Activity of Co‐N4−xCx in Atomic Metal Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction Catalysis

Atomic metal catalysis (AMC) provides an effective way to enhance activity for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Cobalt anchored on nitrogen‐doped carbon materials have been extensively reported. The carbon‐hosted Co‐N₄ structure was widely considered as the active site; however, it is very rare to investigate the activity of Co partially coordinated with N, for example, Co‐N_4?xC_x. Herein, the activity of Co‐N_4?xC_x with tunable coordination environment is investigated as the active sites for ORR catalysis. The defect (di‐vacancies) on carbon is essential for the formation of Co‐N_4?xC_x. N species play two important roles in promoting the intrinsic activity of atomic metal catalyst: N coordinated with Co to manipulate the reactivity by modification of electronic distribution and N helped to trap more Co to increase the number of active sites.     

High‐Rate Oxygen Electroreduction over Graphitic‐N Species Exposed on 3D Hierarchically Porous Nitrogen‐Doped Carbons

Nitrogen‐doped species (NDs) are theoretically accepted as a determinant of the catalytic activity of metal‐free N‐doped carbon (NC) catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, direct relationships between ND type and ORR activity have been difficult to extract because the complexity of carbon matrix impairs efforts to expose specific NDs. Herein, we demonstrate the fabrication of a 3D hierarchically porous NC catalyst with micro‐, meso‐, and macroporosity in one structure, in which sufficient exposure and availability of inner‐pore catalytic sites can be achieved due to its super‐high surface area (2191 cm² g^?1) and interconnected pore system. More importantly, in‐situ formation of graphitic‐N species (GNs) on the surface of NC stimulated by KOH activation enables us to experimentally reveal the catalytic nature of GNs for ORR, which is of great significance for the design and development of advanced metal‐free NC electrocatalysts.     

Ionic Liquids as Precursors for Efficient Mesoporous Iron‐Nitrogen‐Doped Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysts

A ferrocene‐based ionic liquid (Fe‐IL) is used as a metal‐containing feedstock with a nitrogen‐enriched ionic liquid (N‐IL) as a compatible nitrogen content modulator to prepare a novel type of non‐precious‐metal–nitrogen–carbon (M‐N‐C) catalysts, which feature ordered mesoporous structure consisting of uniform iron oxide nanoparticles embedded into N‐enriched carbons. The catalyst Fe¹⁰@NOMC exhibits comparable catalytic activity but superior long‐term stability to 20 wt % Pt/C for ORR with four‐electron transfer pathway under alkaline conditions. Such outstanding catalytic performance is ascribed to the populated Fe (Fe₃O₄) and N (N2) active sites with synergetic chemical coupling as well as the ordered mesoporous structure and high surface area endowed by both the versatile precursors and the synthetic strategy, which also open new avenues for the development of M‐N‐C catalytic materials.