Recent advances of layered double hydroxides–based bifunctional electrocatalysts for ORR and OER

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) have attracted increasing attention for the sake of clean, renewable, and efficient energy technologies in recent years. The design of ORR/OER bifunctional electrocatalysts is a challenging task in the promotion of highly efficient rechargeable metal-air batteries as well as regenerative fuel cells. Owing to the wide adaptability of different types and ratios of metals in the interlayer space as well as the adjustable interlayer distance, composite materials with layered double hydroxides (LDHs) and their derivatives have recently been registered as electrode materials and catalysts supports for various electrochemical reactions. This study examines the recent development of bifunctional electrocatalysts based on LDHs for ORR/OER to expand the application of LDHs in the field of energy storage and conversion. Various bifunctional electrocatalysts associated with LDHs are discussed in detail to improve their performance. Finally, existing problems and future prospects for improving the performance of LDHs bifunctional electrocatalysts are proposed.     

金属-空气电池中双功能电催化剂微纳结构设计（英文）

金属-空气二次电池在可再生电能的存储和转换方面具有广阔的应用前景.在金属-空气二次电池的空气侧,放电时发生氧还原反应(ORR),充电时发生氧析出反应(OER).然而,ORR和OER反应的动力学过程缓慢,因此限制了金属-空气二次电池的实际应用.因此,发展高性能ORR和OER电催化剂对金属-空气二次电池的发展尤为重要.目前,大多数的研究集中在ORR或OER的单功能电催化剂上,而关于双功能电催化剂的研究和综述相对较少.两个反应均具有较高的过电位和较缓慢的动力学过程,而且充电过程的高电压会导致ORR催化剂失活,反之亦然.因此,开发针对这两个反应均具有高活性和高稳定性的双功能电催化剂极具挑战性.近年来,研究者对具有低成本和高性能双功能电催化剂进行了探索.这些双功能电催化剂包括碳基材料,过渡金属材料和复合材料.双功能电催化剂可以通过提高本征活性和表观活性两种策略来提高其整体的活性.其中,本征活性与晶体结构和电子结构密切相关,即可以通过调节晶体结构和电子结构来提高其本征活性.例如,可以改变金属-氧键的强度、氧空位浓度等来调变电催化活性.在碳基材料中掺杂杂原子可以改变碳的电荷密度分布,从而实现对电催化活性的提高.此外,其表观活性还可以通过改变形貌并利用协同作用来改善.构建特殊微纳结构是提高电催化活性的最常用策略之一.在这种情况下,电催化剂具有较高的比表面积,大量的活性位点和良好的电子传导性.同时,复合电催化剂组分之间在加速电催化过程中的协同作用不容忽视.本文将聚焦双功能电催化剂的微纳结构设计,并简要讨论了纳米结构的精细调控和对反应机理的认识.我们认为,未来的工作应继续加强ORR和OER的新型双功能电催化剂的开发,发展更多的合成方法对电催化剂的微纳结构进行调变,并对反应机理进行更深入的研究.首先,通过对结构的精细调变提高电催化剂的本征活性和表观活性.此外,通过多种原位表征方法揭示反应机理,这有助于电催化剂的设计和催化活性的进一步提升.基于此,开发出性能优异的双功能电催化剂以加快用于存储和转换可再生能源的可充电金属-空气二次电池的商业化进程.     

泡沫铜基底原位生长的铜基导电金属有机框架作为双功能电催化剂

以泡沫铜为基底生长氢氧化铜纳米线,通过原位转化合成二维导电金属有机框架(MOF)材料Cu_3HITP_2(HITP=2,3,6,7,10,11-六氨基三亚苯)作为双功能催化剂,可直接用作析氧及氧还原反应的工作电极,而无需使用额外的基底或粘合剂,且无需后续热处理。研究发现以氢氧化铜纳米线为模板的Cu_3HITP_2表现出了更大的电化学比表面积,这种新型的电极可在碱性溶液(0.1和1.0 mol·L~(-1) KOH)中可以稳定运行,析氧反应中在电流密度达到10 mA·cm~(-2)时的过电位仅为1.53 V,超越了商业二氧化钌的催化性能。此外,该催化剂在氧还原反应中的半波电位达到0.75 V,优于大多数MOF材料。     

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 review of transition metal‐based bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts

Electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices play a key role in the development of clean, sustainable, and efficient energy systems to meet the sustainable growth of our society. However, challenging issues including the sluggish kinetics of oxygen electrode reactions involving the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are present, limiting the implementation of devices such as metal‐air batteries, water electrolyzers, and regenerative fuel cells. In this review, various monometallic and bimetallic transition metal oxides (TMOs) and hydroxides are summarized in terms of their application for ORR/OER, in which the merits and demerits of various precious metal and carbon‐based metal oxide materials are discussed, with requirements for better electrocatalysts and catalyst support being introduced as well. Following this, different approaches to improve catalytic activity such as the introduction of doping and defects, the manipulation of crystal facets, and the engineering of supports, compositions, and morphologies are summarized in which TMOs with improved ORR/OER catalytic activities can be synthesized, further improving the speed, stability, and polarization of electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices. Finally, perspectives into the improvement of performance and the better understanding of ORR/OER mechanisms for bifunctional electrocatalysts using in situ spectroscopic techniques and density functional theory calculations are also discussed.     

导电MOFs在能源转化中的应用

可再生能源供应方案包括析氢反应(HER)、析氧反应(OER)、氧还原反应(ORR)和二氧化碳还原反应(CO2RR)等多种反应,电催化剂对这些反应至关重要。到目前为止,已有一系列导电MOFs作为与能源相关电催化电极材料的报道。本文从提高MOFs导电能力和对产物的选择性、增强MOFs的化学稳定性及增加MOFs的反应活性位点等方面介绍了导电MOFs作为电催化剂的设计策略,重点综述了其在能源转化涉及的HER、OER、ORR以及CO2RR方面的应用,并从材料制备和应用需求角度出发, 对高性能导电MOFs材料在电催化领域所面临的挑战和前景进行了展望。     

高效氧催化反应中的金属有机骨架材料（英文）

氧电催化反应包括氧气还原反应(ORR)和氧气析出反应(OER).作为核心电极反应,这两个反应对诸多能源存储与转换技术(比如燃料电池、金属空气电池以及全水分解制氢等)的能量效率起决定性作用.然而,ORR和OER涉及多个反应步骤、多个电子转移过程以及多相界面传质过程.这些复杂的过程较大程度上限制了ORR和OER的反应速率.从理论和实践两个方面来看,ORR和OER都需要高效电催化剂的参与来促进其反应速率,从而能够最终提高上述能源存储与转换技术的能量转换或利用效率.目前,以Pt,Pd,Ir,Ru为代表的贵金属基电催化剂具有十分突出的电催化性能.但是,过高的成本和过低的储量始终制约着贵金属基电催化剂在催化ORR和OER反应方面,乃至在能源存储与转换技术领域的规模化应用.因而,开发高效非贵金属基氧电催化剂成为近年来能源存储与转换领域的研究重点之一.在众多已经报道的非贵金属基氧电催化剂中,金属有机骨架材料(MOFs)备受瞩目.MOFs是一类由有机配体和金属节点通过配位键自组装而成的晶态多孔材料.它们具备超高比表面积、超高孔隙率以及规则性纳米孔道.相比较其他传统的多孔材料(比如活性炭、分子筛、介孔炭、介孔氧化硅等),MOFs最主要的优势在于它们的结构和功能可以依据需求通过选择合适的有机配体和金属节点进行便利地设计,或通过后处理进行必要的改性和调节.基于独特的多孔特性以及结构与功能的可设计、可调节性,MOFs在气体分离与存储、异相催化、化学传感、药物输送、环境保护以及能源存储与转化等领域都具有潜在的应用价值.因而,近年来,MOFs备受基础研究领域和工业界的青睐.针对MOFs开展的基础研究和应用开发逐渐成为诸多领域的研究焦点.也正由于MOFs具有的上述优异特性,尤其是结构与功能的可设计、可调节性,使得设计制备基于单纯MOFs以及MOFs衍生材料成为开发高效非贵金属基氧电催化剂的新途径.本综述首先论述了基于单纯MOFs的氧电催化剂(包括纯MOFs、活性物种修饰的MOFs以及与导电材料构成的复合MOFs)的合成以及它们在ORR或OER催化反应中应用的研究进展.在第二部分论述中,本综述主要针对MOFs衍生的各类氧电催化剂(包括无机微米-纳米结构/多孔碳复合材料、纯多孔碳材料、纯无机微米-纳米结构材料以及单原子型电催化材料)的研究进展进行了简要介绍和讨论.最后,本综述对MOFs基氧电催化剂目前存在的挑战进行了简要分析;同时,也对这类氧电催化剂的通用设计准则以及未来发展方向进行了展望.尽管存在诸多挑战,MOFs始终被认为是极好的"平台"材料.充分利用它们将有利于开发高效且实用的非贵金属基氧电催化剂.     

Bio-inspired Design of Bidirectional Oxygen Reduction and Oxygen Evolution Reaction Molecular Electrocatalysts

The proper utilization of renewable energy sources has emerged as a major challenge in our pursuit of a sustainable and carbon-neutral energy landscape. Small molecule activation is a key component for proper utilization of renewable energy resources, where O₂/H₂O redox couple is reckoned to be a potential game changer. In this regard, electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) have become the prime interest of catalyst designers. Typically, these ORR and OER electrocatalysts are developed distinctly; however, very soon, the requirement of a bidirectional ORR/OER electrocatalyst becomes obvious for practical applicability and rapid energy transduction purposes. A bidirectional catalyst is defined as a catalyst capable of driving a redox reaction in opposing directions. This review has portrayed the development of enzyme structure-inspired design of molecular bidirectional ORR/OER catalysts. The strategic incorporation of secondary and outer coordination sphere features has significantly enhanced the performance of these catalysts, which can be monitored via the key catalytic parameters. These bifunctional OER/ORR catalysts are vital for metal-air battery and fuel cell applications and appropriately poised to lay the foundation for an efficient, economical, and eco-friendly pathway for sustainable energy usage with the rational assembly of energy converting and storage devices.     

A Bifunctional Hybrid Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Reduction and Oxygen Evolution Reactions: Nano-Co3O4-Deposited La0.5Sr0.5MnO3 via Infiltration

For rechargeable metal–air batteries, which are a promising energy storage device for renewable and sustainable energy technologies, the development of cost-effective electrocatalysts with effective bifunctional activity for both oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) has been a challenging task. To realize highly effective ORR and OER electrocatalysts, we present a hybrid catalyst, Co₃O₄-infiltrated La_0.5Sr_0.5MnO_3-δ (LSM@Co₃O₄), synthesized using an electrospray and infiltration technique. This study expands the scope of the infiltration technique by depositing ~18 nm nanoparticles on unprecedented ~70 nm nano-scaffolds. The hybrid LSM@Co₃O₄ catalyst exhibits high catalytic activities for both ORR and OER (~7 times, ~1.5 times, and ~1.6 times higher than LSM, Co₃O₄, and IrO₂, respectively) in terms of onset potential and limiting current density. Moreover, with the LSM@Co₃O₄, the number of electrons transferred reaches four, indicating that the catalyst is effective in the reduction reaction of O₂ via a direct four-electron pathway. The study demonstrates that hybrid catalysts are a promising approach for oxygen electrocatalysts for renewable and sustainable energy devices.     

氧还原和析氧反应的双功能电催化剂--氮磷共掺碳负载四氧化三钴

金属-空气电池具备诸多优势,譬如绿色环保、能量转化率高、启动快速、能量密度高、使用寿命和干态存储时间长等.与燃料电池相比,金属-空气电池结构简单,放电电压平稳,成本低,但依然存在一些制约发展的问题,如阴极催化剂.阴极催化剂在金属-空气电池中发挥催化氧还原反应(oxygen reduction reaction, ORR)和析氧反应(oxygen evolution reac-tion, OER)的关键作用.铂及其合金常用作 ORR的单功能催化剂,而钌和铱等是目前 OER催化效率最高的,但 ORR活性很低,因此需要开发出一种廉价而又具备双功能催化作用的催化剂.单异原子掺杂的碳基催化剂的研究集中在 ORR催化性能上,而多异原子共掺碳最近有研究表明具有双催化氧的性质,如氮磷共掺碳.在这些氮磷共掺的碳架中,氮磷共掺物起着 OER催化作用,掺氮物为 ORR催化的活性位点,而掺磷物起着强化作用.异原子掺杂负载的钴基催化剂(如掺氮还原氧化石墨烯载 Co3O4)是近年来双功能催化剂研究的另一个热点.钴基催化剂有着催化 ORR和 OER的多价价态,然而其本身导电性能差,这一缺陷可通过杂化石墨化碳来弥补,石墨化碳有着优良的导电性能.据我们所知,目前仍没有关于氮磷共掺碳负载的 Co3O4双催化氧的研究.我们合成了氮磷共掺碳(NPC)负载的 Co3O4(Co3O4/NPC),并首次探索了其氧还原和析氧性能. Co3O4/NPC合成分两步进行.首先通过三聚氰胺与植酸之间的酯化或缩聚覆盖在导电炭黑颗粒表面,在保护气氛下焙烧得到 NPC,然后经溶剂热反应以及空气中氧化合成 Co3O4/NPC.催化剂的性能综合考虑了催化活性和稳定性两方面.采用线性扫描伏安法评估了 OER和 ORR的催化活性.对于 OER, Co3O4/NPC的起始电势是0.54 V (以饱和甘汞电极为参比电极),在0.80 V时电流密度达到21.95 mA/cm2,均优于 Co3O4/C和 NPC. Co3O4/NPC的高效 OER催化可归因于氮磷共掺物与 Co3O4之间的协同作用.对于 ORR, Co3O4/NPC的催化效率与商用 Pt/C相近,它们的扩散极限电流密度分别为–4.49和–4.76 mA/cm2(E =–0.80 V).在 ORR过程中, Co3O4起到主要的催化作用.采用计时电流(电流-时间)法评估了催化剂的稳定性.经6 h测定,对于 OER, Co3O4/NPC剩46%电流;而对于 ORR,剩95%电流.整体而言, Co3O4/NPC在 OER和 ORR中都表现出高的催化效率以及良好的稳定性.     

生物质基碳材料作为氧还原反应催化剂的研究进展

燃料电池作为一种清洁能源有很大的发展前景,其阴极氧还原反应多采用铂基催化剂,但由于贵金属铂的储量稀少、价格昂贵等原因,严重阻碍了燃料电池的商业化进程。寻找高活性、高稳定性的新材料来替代阴极铂基催化剂成为燃料电池大规模商业化亟待解决的关键问题之一。研究表明,以生物质为原料的碳材料有望成为商业铂基氧还原催化剂的一种理想替代品。本文综述了这方面的研究进展,并且展望了未来的发展趋势。     

The sum is more than its parts: stability of MnFe oxide nanoparticles supported on oxygen-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes at alternating oxygen reduction reaction and oxygen evolution reaction conditions

Successful design of reversible oxygen electrocatalysts does not only require to consider their activity towards the oxygen reduction (ORR) and the oxygen evolution reactions (OER), but also their electrochemical stability at alternating ORR and OER operating conditions, which is important for potential applications in reversible electrolyzers/fuel cells or metal/air batteries. We show that the combination of catalyst materials containing stable ORR active sites with those containing stable OER active sites may result in a stable ORR/OER catalyst if each of the active components can satisfy the current demand of their respective reaction. We compare the ORR/OER performances of oxides of Mn (stable ORR active sites), Fe (stable OER active sites), and bimetallic Mn_0.5Fe_0.5 (reversible ORR/OER catalyst) supported on oxidized multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Despite the instability of Mn and Fe oxide for the OER and the ORR, respectively, Mn_0.5Fe_0.5 exhibits high stability for both reactions.

     

Advanced Bifunctional Oxygen Reduction and Evolution Electrocatalyst Derived from Surface‐Mounted Metal–Organic Frameworks

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and their derivatives are considered as promising catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which are important for many energy provision technologies, such as electrolyzers, fuel cells and some types of advanced batteries. In this work, a “strain modulation” approach has been applied through the use of surface‐mounted NiFe‐MOFs in order to design an advanced bifunctional ORR/OER electrocatalyst. The material exhibits an excellent OER activity in alkaline media, reaching an industrially relevant current density of 200 mA cm^?2 at an overpotential of only ≈210 mV. It demonstrates operational long‐term stability even at a high current density of 500 mA cm^?2 and exhibits the so far narrowest “overpotential window” ΔE_ORR‐OER of 0.69 V in 0.1 m KOH with a mass loading being two orders of magnitude lower than that of benchmark electrocatalysts.     

The influence of the type of N dopping on the performance of bifunctional N-doped ordered mesoporous carbon electrocatalysts in oxygen reduction and evolution reaction

To develop more ideal bifunctional heteroatom-doped carbon electrocatalysts toward the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction(OER) for regenerative fuel cells and rechargeable metal–air batteries, herein, tobacco-derived N-containing ordered mesoporous carbon(N-OMC) electrocatalysts with different N species distributions are designed. Results indicate that the as-prepared N-OMC with more pyrrolic and pyridinic Ns exhibits much higher activities for the ORR and OER than N-OMC with more graphitic N in both acidic and alkaline media, suggesting that the increase of pyrrolic and pyridinic Ns favors the improvement of ORR and OER activities of the N-containing carbon catalysts, and showing a great potential for the designing of more effective, lower-cost ORR and OER bifunctional electrocatalysts for future regenerative fuel cells and rechargeable metal–air batteries.     

Silica-Derived Nanostructured Electrode Materials for ORR,OER, HER,CO2RR Electrocatalysis,and Energy Storage Applications: A Review**

Silica-derived nanostructured catalysts (SDNCs) are a class of materials synthesized using nanocasting and templating techniques, which involve the sacrificial removal of a silica template to generate highly porous nanostructured materials. The surface of these nanostructures is functionalized with a variety of electrocatalytically active metal and non-metal atoms. SDNCs have attracted considerable attention due to their unique physicochemical properties, tunable electronic configuration, and microstructure. These properties make them highly efficient catalysts and promising electrode materials for next generation electrocatalysis, energy conversion, and energy storage technologies. The continued development of SDNCs is likely to lead to new and improved electrocatalysts and electrode materials. This review article provides a comprehensive overview of the recent advances in the development of SDNCs for electrocatalysis and energy storage applications. It analyzes 337,061 research articles published in the Web of Science (WoS) database up to December 2022 using the keywords “silica”, “electrocatalysts”, “ORR”, “OER”, “HER”, “HOR”, “CO₂RR”, “batteries”, and “supercapacitors”. The review discusses the application of SDNCs for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO₂RR), supercapacitors, lithium-ion batteries, and thermal energy storage applications. It concludes by discussing the advantages and limitations of SDNCs for energy applications.     

Nickel-iron borate coated nickel-iron boride hybrid for highly stable and active oxygen evolution electrocatalysis

The development of efficient and cost-effective electrocatalysts toward anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial for the commercial application of electrochemical water splitting. As the most promising electrocatalysts, the OER performances of nickel-iron-based materials can be further improved by introducing metalloid elements to modify their electron structures. Herein, we developed an efficient hybrid electrocatalyst with nickel-iron boride (NiFeB) as core and amorphous nickel-iron borate (NiFeB_i) as shell (NiFeB@NiFeB_i) via a simple aqueous reduction. The obtained NiFeB@NiFeB_i exhibits a small overpotential of 237 mV at 10 mA/cm² and Tafel slope of 57.65 mV/dec in 1.0 mol/L KOH, outperforming most of the documented precious-metal-free based electrocatalysts. Benefiting from the in situ formed amorphous NiFeBi layer, it shows excellent stability toward the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). These findings might provide a new way to design advanced precious-metal-free electrocatalysts for OER and the application of electrochemical water splitting.     

Bioinspired Transition-Metal Complexes as Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is one of the most important reactions in life processes and energy conversion systems. To alleviate global warming and the energy crisis, the development of high-performance electrocatalysts for the ORR for application in energy conversion and storage devices such as metal–air batteries and fuel cells is highly desirable. Inspired by the biological oxygen activation/reduction process associated with heme- and multicopper-containing metalloenzymes, iron and copper-based transition-metal complexes have been extensively explored as ORR electrocatalysts. Herein, an outline into recent progress on non-precious-metal electrocatalysts for the ORR is provided; these electrocatalysts do not require pyrolysis treatment, which is regarded as desirable from the viewpoint of bioinspired molecular catalyst design, focusing on iron/cobalt macrocycles (porphyrins, phthalocyanines, and corroles) and copper complexes in which the ORR activity is tuned by ligand variation/substitution, the method of catalyst immobilization, and the underlying supporting materials. Current challenges and exciting imminent developments in bioinspired ORR electrocatalysts are summarized and proposed.     

Synergistic Effect between Metal–Nitrogen–Carbon Sheets and NiO Nanoparticles for Enhanced Electrochemical Water‐Oxidation Performance

Identifying effective means to improve the electrochemical performance of oxygen‐evolution catalysts represents a significant challenge in several emerging renewable energy technologies. Herein, we consider metal–nitrogen–carbon sheets which are commonly used for catalyzing the oxygen‐reduction reaction (ORR), as the support to load NiO nanoparticles for the oxygen‐evolution reaction (OER). FeNC sheets, as the advanced supports, synergistically promote the NiO nanocatalysts to exhibit superior performance in alkaline media, which is confirmed by experimental observations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Our findings show the advantages in considering the support effect for designing highly active, durable, and cost‐effective OER electrocatalysts.     

氧还原电化学催化剂研究的最新进展

燃料电池可以在接近室温条件下将氢或烃类中蕴含的巨大化学能通过电化学途径直接转化为清洁、稳定、可持续的电能,因而被视为极有前景的、能够满足日益增长的世界能源需求的终极解决方案之一.在一个典型的氢燃料电池中,氢在正极氧化而氧在负极还原,从动力学角度说,氧还原反应(ORR)比氢氧化反应进行的慢得多.无论是在酸性还是碱性条件下,氧的还原都可以一个四电子过程或是两个双电子过程进行,当然在酸性和碱性环境中反应的机理不同.铂一直是最有效的ORR催化剂,但受到价格昂贵、稳定性差和易中毒等因素的制约,目前非铂催化剂成为越来越引人瞩目的发展方向.本综述试图从分子催化剂、金属纳米材料催化剂、金属氧化物催化剂和新兴的二维材料催化剂等方面,选取近十年来最能代表ORR电化学催化剂方面成就的例子分析其优缺点,并为今后该领域的研究提供一些有益的思路.典型的分子催化剂是卟啉类化合物,当这种四齿的N4配体与过渡金属特别是铁、钴络合时,往往显示出良好的ORR催化性能,多数情况下其中的过渡金属中心、配体和碳支撑体系共同组成催化剂的活性中心.在另一些报道中,邻菲罗啉或是连吡啶型N2化合物也可以作为配体使用.第四和第五副族的很多金属形成的不同价态的氧化物都具有氧还原活性,比如MnOx,CoOx,TiOx,ZrOx,IrOx等.金属氧化物表现出易于修饰,不容易团聚和抗腐蚀等诸多优点,而其良好的ORR性能与表面的缺陷密切相关,因此钙钛矿型氧化物ABOx也引起人们的广泛关注,人们可以通过调节氧化物的晶型、尺寸和组成来获得更好的催化性能.近年来随着液相合成技术的发展,人们可以制备出理想形状和尺寸的单分散纳米粒子,然后通过旋涂、自组装等手段将其修饰到合适的电极上以获得增强性能的ORR催化剂.通过形状与尺寸调控,或组合成其它复杂的纳米结构,都有可能提高催化活性或是稳定性,因此有关纳米催化剂的研究日趋增多.在此基础上,考虑到石墨烯的可修饰性和良好的电化学性能,纳米材料复合石墨烯所形成的二维或三维结构也可提供很好的氧还原催化性能,而MoS2代替石墨烯作为支撑物所构成的二维催化剂也是值得注意的研究方向.综上所述,尽管现有的非铂催化剂仍难以完全满足商业化的要求,设计理念和合成方法的快速发展有望在不远的将来解决这一难题.而设计合成可控尺寸、形状、组成和表面形貌的纳米催化剂在很大程度上将加速这一进程.