Stable confinement of Fe/Fe_3C in Fe,N-codoped carbon nanotube towards robust zinc-air batteries

Catalytic oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction(OER) have garnered great attention as the key character in metal-air batteries.Herein,we developed a superior nonprecious bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst,fabricated through spatial confinement of Fe/Fe_3 C nanocrystals in pyridinic N and Fe-Nx rich carbon nanotubes(Fe/Fe_3 C-N-CNTs).During ORR,the resultant electrocatalyst exhibits positive onset pote ntial of 1.0 V(vs.RHE),large half-wave potentials of 0.88 V(vs.RHE),which is more positive than Pt/C(0.98 V and 0.83 V,respectively).Remarkably,Fe/Fe_3 C-N-CNTs exhibits outstanding durability and great methanol tolerance,exceeding Pt/C and most reported nonprecious metal-based oxygen reduction electrocatalysts.Moreover,Fe/Fe_3 C-N-CNTs show a markedly low potential at j=10 mA/cm~2,small Tafel slopes and extremely high stability for OER.Impressively,the Fe/Fe_3 C-N-CNTs-based Zn-air batteries demonstrate high power density of 183 mW/cm~2 and robust charge/discharge stability.It is revealed that the spatial confinement effect can impede the aggregation and corrosion of Fe/Fe_3 C nanocrystals.Meanwhile,Fe/Fe_3 C and Fe-Nx play synergistic effect on boosting the ORR/OER activity,which provides an important guideline for construction of inexpensive nonprecious metal-carbon hybrid nanomaterials.     

N,S-Co-Doped Porous Carbon Nanofiber Films Derived from Fullerenes (C60) as Efficient Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction and a Zn–Air Battery

The development of highly efficient metal-free electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) has attracted great attention for the creation of electrochemical energy devices. In this study, one-dimensional (1 D) fullerene nanofibers prepared from liquid–liquid interfacial precipitation are first fabricated into fullerene-derived carbon nanofiber films (FCNFs) through a simple filtration procedure. Then, pyrolysis of the FCNFs in the presence of ammonia and sulfur produces N- and S-co-doped porous carbon nanofiber films (N,S-PCNFs). As excellent metal-free electrocatalysts for the ORR, N,S-PCNFs exhibit remarkable catalytic activity, superior stability, and excellent methanol tolerance in both alkaline and acidic solution. Such a high ORR performance benefits from the robust porous nanofiber network structure with high concentrations of active N- and S- groups and abundant defects. Notably, upon practical use of N,S-PCNFs as catalysts in Zn-air batteries, a high power density and a large operating voltage are achieved, with a performance comparable to that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst. This work presents a facile strategy for the creation of a new class of energy nanomaterials based on fullerenes, demonstrating their practical uses in electrocatalytic ORR processes and Zn-air batteries.     

贵金属基纳米酶的研究进展

贵金属纳米材料在纳米尺度具有独特的光学、 电学性质及优异的催化性能, 是一类重要的功能纳米材料. 基于贵金属材料的纳米酶研究是贵金属纳米材料在生物医学领域的一个前沿研究方向. 贵金属基纳米酶具有特殊的光学性质、 较好的化学稳定性、 可调控的类酶活性及良好的生物相容性, 是目前纳米生物医学领域的热点研究材料. 本文总结了贵金属基纳米酶的活性种类、 活性机理、 活性调控以及在生物医学等领域的潜在应用.     

Recent advances in carbon-based electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction

Fuel cells are one of the most promising clean energy devices to substitute for fossil fuel in the future to alleviate energy crisis and environmental pollution.As the key reaction on the cathode in the fuel cells,oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)still requires efficient noble metal catalysts such as the comme rcial Pt/C to boost the reaction for its sluggish kinetics.Therefore,it is critical to design earth-abundant carbonbased catalysts with high efficiency and long-term stability to replace the noble metal-based catalysts.This review focuses on the recent progress about carbon-based ORR catalysts including non-metal doped carbon materials,transition metal-nitrogen-carbon species,transition metal carbides/carbon,single atom catalysts,and other carbon hybrids.And we further infer that the excellent ORR performances can be achieved by the balance of geometric and electronic structures of catalysts such as conductivity,surface area,hierarchical porous structure,defect and doping effect.Additionally,the perspective development trend is also proposed to guide the rational designation of carbon-based catalysts for ORR and even extend to other energy storage and conversion fields in the future.     

Recent advances in oxygen electrocatalysts based on tunable structural polymers

Due to their high energy density, great safety and eco-friendliness, zinc-air batteries (ZABs) attract much attention. During the process of charging and discharging, the two key processes viz. oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) limit their efficiency. In general, the noble metal-based electrocatalysts (ORR: platinum (Pt); OER: iridium (IV) oxide [IrO₂] and ruthenium oxide [RuO₂]) have long been used. Nonetheless, these noble metal electrocatalysts also have their limitations owing to high cost and poor stability. As alternatives, polymers are found to be most promising on account of their tunable structure, uniform network, high surface morphology and strong durability. Polymers are capable catalysts. In this review, recent advances as well as insight into the architecture of covalent organic polymers (COPs), metal coordination polymers (MCPs) and pyrolysis-free polymers (PFPs) are duly outlined.     

Carbon-Based Electrocatalysts for Acidic Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is vital for clean and renewable energy technologies, which require no fossil fuel but catalysts. Platinum (Pt) is the best-known catalyst for ORR. However, its high cost and scarcity have severely hindered renewable energy devices (e.g., fuel cells) for large-scale applications. Recent breakthroughs in carbon-based metal-free electrochemical catalysts (C-MFECs) show great potential for earth-abundant carbon materials as low-cost metal-free electrocatalysts towards ORR in acidic media. This article provides a focused, but critical review on C-MFECs for ORR in acidic media with an emphasis on advances in the structure design and synthesis, fundamental understanding of the structure-property relationship and electrocatalytic mechanisms, and their applications in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Current challenges and future perspectives in this emerging field are also discussed.     

聚苯胺衍生Fe-N-C催化剂在碱性电解质中对氧还原反应的催化性能

经过热解聚苯胺、碳和FeCl₃的混合物制备的Fe-N-C材料在酸性电解质中对氧还原反应表现出高的催化活性;由于材料中不存在任何贵金属, 因而被认为是一类新型非贵金属氧还原催化剂. 然而这类催化剂在碱性电解质中催化氧还原反应的性能如何尚不清楚. 本文使用旋转圆盘电极技术考察了制备的两个Fe-N-C催化剂在KOH水溶液中催化氧还原反应性能, 发现这两个催化剂表现出比无金属的N掺杂碳材料更高的活性. 与商业Pt/C催化剂相比, 它们催化氧还原反应的起始电势和半波电势分别仅低60和40 mV左右, 计时电流测试表明, 它们比Pt/C催化剂显示出更好的稳定性. 此外, 在这两个Fe-N-C催化剂上的氧还原反应主要遵循四电子途径. 本工作显示, Fe-N-C材料有望用于碱性燃料电池氧还原反应催化剂.     

Highly Efficient Oxygen Reduction Reaction Fe-N-C Cathode in Long-durable Direct Glycol Fuel Cells

The oxygen reduction reaction in direct glycol fuel cells heavily relies on noble metal-based electrocatalysts. In this work, novel Pt group metal-free catalysts based on porous Fe-N-C materials are successfully synthesized as catalysts with high activity and durability for the cathode oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Through the encapsulation of NH₄SCN salt, the surface elements and pore structure of the catalyst are effectively changed, and the active sites of Fe effectively are increased. The half-wave potential of the best Fe-N-C catalyst was –0.02 V vs. Hg/HgO in an alkaline environment. The porous Fe-N-C catalyst possesses a large specific surface area(1158 m²/g) and shows good activity and tolerance to glycol. The direct glycol fuel cell with the Fe-N-C cathode achieved a maximum power density of 62.2 mW/cm² with 4 mol/L KOH and 4 mol/L glycol solution at 25 °C and maintained discharge for more than 250 h at a 50 A/cm² current density.     

Polyelectrolyte functionalized carbon nanotubes as efficient metal-free electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction

Having a strong electron-withdrawing ability, poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) was used to create net positive charge for carbon atoms in the nanotube carbon plane via intermolecular charge transfer. The resultant PDDA functionalized/adsorbed carbon nanotubes (CNTs), either in an aligned or nonaligned form, were demonstrated to act as metal-free catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in fuel cells with similar performance as Pt catalysts. The adsorption-induced intermolecular charge-transfer should provide a general approach to various carbon-based efficient metal-free ORR catalysts for oxygen reduction in fuel cells, and even new catalytic materials for applications beyond fuel cells.     

Nanosheets with High-Performance Electrochemical Oxygen Reduction Reaction Revived from Green Walnut Peel

The synthesis of metal-free carbon-based electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reactions (ORR) to replace conventional Pt-based catalysts has become a hot spot in current research. This work proposes an activation-assisted carbonization strategy, to manufacture N-doped ultra-thin carbon nanosheets (GWS180M800) with high catalytic activity, namely, melamine is used as an accelerator/nitrogen source, and walnut green peels biological waste as a carbon source. The melamine acts as a nitrogen donor in the hydrothermal process, effectively enhancing the nitrogen doping rate. The content of pyridine nitrogen groups accounts for up to 48.5% of the total nitrogen content. Electrochemical tests show that the GWS180M800 has excellent ORR electrocatalytic activity and stability, and makes a quasi-four-electron ORR pathway clear in the alkaline electrolyte. The initial potential and half slope potential are as high as 1.01 and 0.82 V vs. RHE, respectively. The GWS180M800 catalyst has a better ability to avoid methanol cross poisoning than Pt/C has. Compared with 20 wt% Pt/C, GWS180M800 has improved methanol tolerance and stability. It is a metal-free biochar ORR catalyst with great development potential and application prospects. This result provides a new space for the preparation of valuable porous nano-carbon materials based on carbonaceous solid waste and provides new ideas for catalyzing a wide range of electrochemical reactions in the future.     

Highly efficient metal-free growth of nitrogen-doped single-walled carbon nanotubes on plasma-etched substrates for oxygen reduction

We have for the first time developed a simple plasma-etching technology to effectively generate metal-free particle catalysts for efficient metal-free growth of undoped and/or nitrogen-doped single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Compared with undoped CNTs, the newly produced metal-free nitrogen-containing CNTs were demonstrated to show relatively good electrocatalytic activity and long-term stability toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in an acidic medium. Owing to the highly generic nature of the plasma etching technique, the methodology developed in this study can be applied to many other substrates for efficient growth of metal-free CNTs for various applications, ranging from energy related to electronic and to biomedical systems.     

Recent advances in charge mechanism of noble metal-based cathodes for Li-O2 batteries

Lithium-oxygen(Li-O₂ ) batteries are considered as the next generation for energy storages systems due to the higher theoretical energy density than that of Li-ion batteries. However, the high charge overpotential caused by the insulated Li₂O₂ results in low energy efficiency, side reaction from electrolyte and cathode, and therefore poor battery performance. Designing noble metal-based catalysts can be an effective strategy to develop high-performance Li-O_2...     

Fe-N共掺杂纳米碳材料的形貌对电化学还原反应的影响

众所周知,石墨烯片（GS）和碳纳米管是能源转化和储存应用中有效的催化剂. 然而,过渡金属基氮（N）掺杂的体系中经常形成GS和碳纳米管的复合物,使得该体系内的构效关系研究变得十分困难. 为了可控制备出含有理想物种的催化剂,作者尝试通过利用氮对碳纳米管生长的效应调节生成产物的形貌. 本文中,作者采用一步法制备了一系列Fe-N共掺杂的GS、GS/竹节碳纳米管(BCNTs)复合物及BCNTs催化剂. 为了评估碳形貌对催化剂性能的影响,作者采用氧气还原反应（ORR）及二氧化碳还原反应（CO₂RR）作为模型反应. 电化学测试结果表明,所有的样品当中仅含BCNTs的催化剂表现出最好的ORR活性（起始电位E_onset = 1.02 V_RHE）及CO₂RR活性（CO生成法拉第效率FE_CO = 91.1%,-0.6 V_RHE）. 进一步的研究表明,优异的活性与独特的BCNTs中存在的缺陷、较大的比表面积、高含量的吡啶N及FeN_x相关. 该工作加深了作者对形貌相关的ORR及CO₂RR过程的认识和理解.     

Recent advances in carbon-based materials for electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction

The increase of atmospheric CO₂ concentration has caused many environmental issues. Electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction（CO₂RR） has been considered as a promising strategy to mitigate these challenges. The electrocatalysts with a low overpotential, high Faradaic efficiency, and excellent selectivity are of great significance for the CO₂RR. Carbon-based materials including metal-free carbon catalysts and metal-based carbon catalysts have shown great p...     

Substituent position effect of Co porphyrin on oxygen electrocatalysis

Substituent effect of metal porphyrin molecular catalysts plays a crucial role in determining the catalytic activity of oxygen electrocatalysis. Herein, substituent position effect of Co porphyrins on oxygen electrocatalysis, including the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), was investigated. Two Co porphyrins, namely 2,4,6-OMe-CoP and 3,4,5-OMe-CoP, were selected as the research objects. The ORR and OER performance was evaluated by drop-coating molecular catalysts on carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The resulted 3,4,5-OMe-CoP/CNT exhibited high bifunctional electrocatalytic activities and better long-term stability for both ORR and OER than 2,4,6-OMe-CoP/CNT. Furthermore, when applied in the Zn-air battery, 3,4,5-OMe-CoP/CNT exhibited comparable performance to that with precious metal-based materials. The enhanced catalytic activity may be attributed to the improved charge transfer rate, mass transfer and hydrophilicity. This work provides an effective strategy to further enhance catalytic activity by introducing substituent position effect, which is of great importance for developing more efficient energy-related electrocatalysts.     

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.     

Copolymer-Induced Intermolecular Charge Transfer: Enhancing the Activity of Metal-Free Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction

Breaking the electroneutrality of sp² carbon lattice is a viable way for nanocarbon material to modulate the charge delocalization and to further alter the electrocatalytic activity. Positive charge spreadsheeting is preferable for catalyzing the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and other electrochemical reactions. Analogously to the case of intramolecular charge transfer by heteroatom doping, electrons in the conjugated carbon lattice can be redistributed by the intermolecular charge transfer from the nanocarbon material to the polyelectrolyte. A copolymeric electrolyte, epichlorohydrin-dimethylamine copolymer (EDC) was synthesized. The EDC-modified carbon nanotube (CNT) hybrid was subsequently fabricated by sonication treatment and served as a metal-free carbonaceous electrocatalyst with remarkable catalytic activity and stability. The resultant hybrid presents positive charge spreadsheeting on CNT as a result of the interfacial electron transfer from CNT to EDC. DFT calculations were further carried out to reveal that the enhancement of the wrapped EDC polyelectrolyte originates from the synergetic effect of the quaternary ammonium-hydroxyl covalently bonded structure. The CNT-EDC hybrid not only provides an atomically precise regulation to modulate nanocarbon materials from inactive carbonaceous materials into efficient metal-free catalysts, but it also opens new avenues to develop metal-free catalysts with well-defined and highly active sites.     

燃料电池非铂基氧还原电催化剂的最新研究进展

目前,燃料电池中广泛使用的Pt基阴极催化剂价格昂贵、资源缺乏,且易中毒,故急需开发廉价、耐用、高效和高耐醇的非铂基阴极氧还原催化剂. 本文阐述了国内外在非铂氧还原催化剂方面的研究,并着重介绍了作者课题组的最新研究进展. 主要集中在非贵金属（Fe）负载和杂原子（F）掺杂的非金属催化剂,力求原料廉价并可提高催化剂的催化活性、稳定性、抗毒化能力,实现较高的性价比. 同时通过理论计算解释了氟单掺杂和氮氟共掺杂高效性的根源,为设计高效催化剂提供了有力的理论支持.     

Transition metal-based electrocatalysts for overall water splitting

Electrochemical overall water splitting is attracting a broad focus as a promising strategy for converting the electrical output of renewable resources into chemical fuels, specifically oxygen and hydrogen. However, the urgent challenge in water electrolysis is to search for low-cost, high-efficiency catalysts based on earth-abundant elements as an alternative to the high-cost but effective noble metal-based catalysts. The transition metal-based catalysts are more appealing than the noble metal catalysts because of its low cost, high performance and long stability. Some recent advances for the development in overall water splitting are reviewed in terms of transition metal-based oxides, carbides, phosphides, sulfides, and hybrids of their mixtures as hybrid bifunctional electrocatalysts. Concentrating on different catalytic mechanisms, recent advances in their structural design, controllable synthesis, mechanistic insight, and performance-enhancing strategies are proposed. The challenges and prospects for the future development of transition metal-based bifunctional electrocatalysts are also addressed.     

石墨烯衍生物负载的纳米催化剂用于氧还原反应

综述了用于燃料电池中氧还原反应(ORR)的石墨烯衍生物负载的各种纳米催化剂的最新进展。介绍了用于表征石墨烯基电催化剂的常规电化学技术以及石墨烯基电催化剂最新的研究进展。负载于还原氧化石墨烯(RGO)上的Pt催化剂的电化学活性和稳定性均得到显著提高。其它贵金属催化剂,如Pd, Au和Ag也表现出较高的催化活性。当以RGO或少层石墨烯为载体时, Pd催化剂的稳定性提高。讨论了氧化石墨烯负载Au或Ag催化剂的合成方法。另外,以N4螯合络合物形式存在的非贵过渡金属可降低氧的电化学性能。 Fe和Co是可替代的廉价ORR催化剂。在大多数情况下,这些催化剂稳定性和耐受性的问题均可得到解决,但其整体性能还很难超越Pt/C催化剂。