Metal corroles as electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction

The rotating ring disk electrode method has been used to study O2 electroreduction with metal corroles. Catalysis begins at potentials that are 0.5-0.7 V more positive than the expected potential of the M(III/II) couple based on studies in non-aqueous solutions. The path of O2 reduction depends on the nature of the metal ion. Cobalt corroles promote O2 reduction to H2O2. Iron corroles catalyse O2 reduction via parallel two- and four-electron pathways, with a predominate four-electron reaction. The rate constants for the individual O2 reduction paths are given at pH 7. Mechanisms are proposed on the basis of pH dependence, inhibition studies, and Tafel slopes. An imidazole-tailed iron corrole catalyses H2O2 disproportionation analogous to catalase.     

Platinum nanoparticles supported on nitrobenzene-functionalised graphene nanosheets as electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline media

A systematic study on the electrocatalytic properties of Pt nanoparticles supported on nitrobenzene-modified graphene (Pt-NB/G) as catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline solution was performed. Graphene nanosheets were spontaneously grafted with nitrophenyl groups using 4-nitrobenzenediazonium salt. The electrocatalytic activity towards the ORR and stability of the prepared catalysts in 0.1 M KOH solution have been studied and compared with that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst. The results obtained show that the NB-modified graphene nanosheets can be good Pt catalyst support with high stability and excellent electrocatalytic properties. The specific activity of Pt-NB/G for O₂ reduction was 0.184 mA cm⁻², which is very close to that obtained for commercial 20 wt% Pt/C catalyst (0.214 mA cm⁻²) at 0.9 V vs. RHE. The Pt-NB/G hybrid material promotes a four-electron reduction of oxygen and can be used as a promising cathode catalyst in alkaline fuel cells.     

基于氮掺杂碳载铁复合物的锌空电池氧阴极催化剂

迫在眉睫的环境和能源问题推动人类探索可行、可靠和可再生的能源技术.锌-空气电池和氢氧燃料电池等器件显示出高能量转换效率,但是仍有许多难题有待克服,例如阴极侧上缓慢的氧还原反应(ORR),以及高昂的成本极大地限制了铂基催化剂在商业上的广泛应用.因此,开发高性能的廉价ORR催化剂具有重要意义.过渡金属碳氮化合物(M-N-C, M=Co, Fe等)成为最有希望替代铂基催化剂的一类材料, M-N-C催化剂可以通过直接热解含有过渡金属、氮和碳物种的前驱体合成.然而热解时金属原子易团聚,多孔结构不能被有效地控制,导致相对较差的催化活性.目前, MOF衍生的催化剂在能源转化和储存技术中得到了广泛的关注,其具有丰富的氮含量、高比表面积和可调的孔道结构等特点.本文报道了一种简便可靠可控的合成铁氮共掺杂碳十二面体纳米结构催化剂的方法,并作为阴极电催化剂用于锌空气电池中,测试结果证实,合成的铁氮共掺杂的纳米碳具有与铂基材料相当的活性和更加优异的稳定性.表面吸附了的邻菲罗啉铁的ZIF-8在碳化过程中,氮基团能够结合铁形成Fe Nx结构单元,因此可得到铁氮共掺杂的电催化剂.粉末X射线衍射,扫描电镜证实ZIF-8的成功合成.经过热解得到的催化剂中Fe Nx或Fe Cx衍射峰较弱,表明样品中铁含量较低,存在部分无定型铁.通过拉曼光谱分析发现,引入的邻菲罗啉在热解过程中诱导了缺陷的形成,所以Fe-NCDNA-0的ID/IG比值明显高于NC.同时ID/IG随着铁含量的增加而减少,这是因为铁可以诱导石墨化,诱导效应随着铁含量的增加而增加.分析氮气吸附-脱附等温线得出,引入邻菲罗啉之后,比表面积增加;而铁的引入因其占据了微孔结构,导致比表面积下降.同时电镜证实Fe-NCDNA-2具有较大的形貌扭曲,使得该材料具有较大的比表面积.系统的电化学研究表明,氮掺杂有利于增强ORR活性,在引入铁之后形成高效的活性中心会进一步提高催化性能.因此, Fe-NCDNA-2在碱性条件下表现出优异的ORR性能.线性扫描伏安法曲线表明,铁氮共掺杂的材料表现出与Pt/C相似的性能,其中Fe-NCDNA-2的半波电位(E1/2)为0.863 V,比商业Pt/C的电位更正(E1/2=0.841 V).同时, Fe-NCDNA-2具有更加优异的稳定性,测试30000 s后的电流保持率为80%(Pt/C:64%).在中性介质中,合成的材料也展示了较高的ORR活性.Fe-NCDNA-2的E1/2=0.715 V,催化30000 s后电流保持率77%,均优于商业Pt/C催化剂.组装的锌空气电池进一步验证其作为氧还原催化剂实际应用的可行性.相比于以Pt/C为催化剂做空气阴极的电池,以Fe-NCDNA-2组装的电池表现出更高的开路电压,更高的功率密度(184 m Wcm^-2),以及更加优异的充放电循环稳定性.该工作也有利于启发研究人员探索类似的氮掺杂过渡金属碳材料在各种催化上的应用.     

Non-noble metal-carbonized aerogel composites as electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction

Non-noble metal-based electrocatalysts have been examined for their electrocatalytic activity toward the reduction of oxygen. These materials were prepared from highly porous polyacrylonitrile microcellular foams containing a salt of iron or cobalt, followed by carbonisation. In common with Pt/C, iron or cobalt-carbonized aerogel nanocomposites show good electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen reduction in acidic solutions.     

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.     

Highly efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction

Highly efficient and chemically compatible LnxSr1-xCoO3-delta (Ln = La, Sm, Gd, ...)/Co3O4 electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction are presented and the very low cathode polarization resistances and excellent performances implied their promising application for developing intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), as well as potential application for oxygen separation membranes.     

Penta-coordinated transition metal macrocycles as electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is a highly important reaction in electrochemistry. The following short review details recent advances in novel...     

3D nitrogen-doped graphene aerogel-supported Fe3O4 nanoparticles as efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction

Three-dimensional (3D) N-doped graphene aerogel (N-GA)-supported Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles (Fe(3)O(4)/N-GAs) as efficient cathode catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are reported. The graphene hybrids exhibit an interconnected macroporous framework of graphene sheets with uniform dispersion of Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles (NPs). In studying the effects of the carbon support on the Fe(3)O(4) NPs for the ORR, we found that Fe(3)O(4)/N-GAs show a more positive onset potential, higher cathodic density, lower H(2)O(2) yield, and higher electron transfer number for the ORR in alkaline media than Fe(3)O(4) NPs supported on N-doped carbon black or N-doped graphene sheets, highlighting the importance of the 3D macropores and high specific surface area of the GA support for improving the ORR performance. Furthermore, Fe(3)O(4)/N-GAs show better durability than the commercial Pt/C catalyst.     

Nitrogen-doped cobalt nanoparticles/nitrogen-doped plate-like ordered mesoporous carbons composites as noble-metal free electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction

In this work, nitrogen-doped cobalt nanoparticles/nitrogen-doped plate-like ordered mesoporous carbons(N/Co/OMCs) were used as noble-metal free electrocatalysts with high catalytic efficiency. Compared with OMCs with long channel length, due to more entrances for catalytic target accessibility and a short pathway for rapid diffusion, the utilization efficiency of cobalt nanoparticles inside the plate-like OMCs with short pore length is well improved, which can take full advantage of porous structure in electrocatalysis and increase the utilization of catalysts. The active sites in N/Co/OMCs for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) are highly exposed to oxygen molecule, which results in a high activity for ORR. By combination of the catalytic properties of nitrogen dopant, incorporation of Co nanoparticles, and structural properties of OMCs, the N/Co/plate-like OMCs are highly active noble-metal free catalysts for ORR in alkaline solution.     

Ultrasmall Pt2Sr alloy nanoparticles as efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction and hydrogen evolution in acidic media

Electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) and hydrogen evolution reaction(HER) in acidic media are vital for the applications of renewable energy electrolyzers.However,the low mass activity of noble Pt urgently needs to be improved due to the strong binding energetics of oxygen species(*O) with Pt sites.Here we report fine PtxSr alloy(～2 nm) supported on N-doped carbon(NC) pyrolyzing from ZIF-8 as bifunctional electrocatalysts toward ORR and HER in acidic media.The representative Pt_2<...     

Alternate assemblies of platinum nanoparticles and metalloporphyrins as tunable electrocatalysts for dioxygen reduction

Through electrostatic layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly, negatively charged citrate-stabilized platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) and positively charged [tetrakis(N-methylpyridyl)porphyrinato] cobalt were alternately deposited on a 4-aminobenzoic acid-modified glassy carbon electrode and also on indium tin oxide substrates, directly forming the three-dimensional nanostructured materials. Thus-prepared multilayer films were characterized by UV--visible spectroscopy, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and cyclic voltammetry. Regular growth of the multilayer films is monitored by UV--visible spectroscopy and SPR spectroscopy. AFM provides the morphology of the multilayer films. The PtNPs containing multilayer films exhibit high electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of dioxygen with high stability. Rotating disk electrode voltammetry and rotating ring-disk electrode voltammetry demonstrate that the PtNP-containing multilayer films can catalyze an almost four-electron reduction of O(2) to H(2)O in an air-saturated 0.5 M H(2)SO(4) solution. Furthermore, the electrocatalytic activity of the films could be further tailored by simply choosing different cycles in the LBL process or more specifically the amount of the assembly components in the films. The high electrocatalytic activity and good stability for dioxygen reduction make the PtNP-containing multilayer films potential candidates for the efficient cathode material in fuel cells.     

Trimetallic Au@PdPt core-shell nanoparticles with ultrathin PdPt skin as highly stable electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction in acid solution

To design efficient and low-cost core-shell electrocatalysts with an ultrathin platinum shell, the balance between platinum dosage and durability in acid solution is of great importance. In the present work, trimetallic Au@PdPt core-shell nanoparticles(NPs)with Pd/Pt molar ratios ranging from 0.31:1 to 4.20:1 were synthesized based on the Au catalytic reduction strategy and the subsequent metallic replacement reaction. When the Pd/Pt molar ratio is 1.19:1(designated as Au@Pd_(1.19) Pt_1 NPs), the superior electrochemical activity and stability were achieved for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) in acid solution. Especially, the specific and mass activities of Au@Pd_(1.19) Pt_1 NPs are 1.31 and 6.09 times higher than those of commercial Pt/C catalyst. In addition, the Au@Pd_(1.19) Pt_1 NPs presented a good durability in acid solution. After 3000 potential cycles between 0.1 and 0.7 V(vs. Ag/AgCl), the oxygen reduction activity is almost unchanged. This study provides a simple strategy to synthesize highperformance trimetallic ORR electrocatalyst for fuel cells.     

Niobium oxide-supported platinum ultra-low amount electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction

We demonstrate a new approach to synthesizing high-activity electrocatalysts for the O(2) reduction reaction with ultra low Pt content. The synthesis involves placing a small amount of Pt, the equivalent of a monolayer, on carbon-supported niobium oxide nanoparticles (NbO(2) or Nb(2)O(5)). Rotating disk electrode measurements show that the Pt/NbO(2)/C electrocatalyst has three times higher Pt mass activity for the O(2) reduction reaction than a commercial Pt/C electrocatalyst. The observed high activity of the Pt deposit is attributed to the reduced OH adsorption caused by lateral repulsion between PtOH and oxide surface species. The new electrocatalyst also exhibits improved stability against Pt dissolution under a potential cycling regime (30,000 cycles from 0.6 V to 1.1 V). These findings demonstrate that niobium-oxide (NbO(2)) nanoparticles can be adequate supports for Pt and facilitate further reducing the noble metal content in electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction.     

Palladium monolayer and palladium alloy electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction

We investigated the oxygen-reduction reaction (ORR) on Pd monolayers on various surfaces and on Pd alloys to obtain a substitute for Pt and to elucidate the origin of their activity. The activity of Pd monolayers supported on Ru(0001), Rh(111), Ir(111), Pt(111), and Au(111) increased in the following order: Pd/Ru(0001) < Pd/Ir(111) < Pd/Rh(111) < Pd/Au(111) < Pd/Pt(111). Their activity was correlated with their d-band centers, which were calculated using density functional theory (DFT). We found a volcano-type dependence of activity on the energy of the d-band center of Pd monolayers, with Pd/Pt(111) at the top of the curve. The activity of the non-Pt Pd2Co/C alloy electrocatalyst nanoparticles that we synthesized was comparable to that of commercial Pt-containing catalysts. The kinetics of the ORR on this electrocatalyst predominantly involves a four-electron step reduction with the first electron transfer being the rate-determining step. The downshift of the d-band center of the Pd "skin", which constitutes the alloy surface due to the strong surface segregation of Pd at elevated temperatures, determined its high ORR activity. Additionally, it showed very high methanol tolerance, retaining very high catalytic activity for the ORR at high concentrations of methanol. Provided its stability is satisfactory, this catalyst might possibly replace Pt in fuel-cell cathodes, especially those of direct methanol oxidation fuel cells (DMFCs).     

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...     

Rational design of platinum-group-metal-free electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction

Platinum-group-metal (PGM)-free materials have been promised as potential replacement for Pt as the cathodic catalyst in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Critical design criteria of the PGM-free catalyst reside on the high active site density to compensate its generally lower turn-over frequency and improved mass-charge transfers during the electrocatalysis. This short review summarizes the research activities in recent years from our team at Argonne National Laboratory in preparing highly active oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts using rationally designed porous organic precursors, as reported in the First Telluride Science Research Center (TSRC) Workshop on PGM-free Electrocatalysis in 2019. More recent studies by others are also discussed.