Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) has been utilized in many practical electrochemical energy conversion devices (for example, in fuel cells with alkaline electrolyte).Nevertheless the kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in the cathode is much lower than that in the anode reaction. At present, the carbon-supported platinum (Pt/C) catalyst is generally used as an effective cathode catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, the high price and degradation of Pt catalytic activity severely with time restrict the practical application. To overcome the issue, the cobalt- based catalysts have attracted much attention. This abstract mainly focused on preparation of the N-doped carbon-supported cobalt oxide nanoparticles. This procedure was classified into two steps: firstly, an impregnation method was utilized in which pre-treated Vulcan XC-72R and some quantities of cobalt nitrate hexahydrate (Co(NO3)2.6H2O) were added into a beaker contained 100 mL distilled water, dried overnight at 90 °C and heated at a rate of 5°C min-1 up to 300°C to obtain the sample with 60% loading. Secondly, the pre-synthesized sample and ammonium hydroxide solution were sealed in a 100 mL Teflon-lined autoclave and maintained at 125 °C for 6 h. The resulting samples were characterized by X–ray diffraction (XRD), as shown in Figure 1. The results showed that the average diameter of the prepared Co3O4/NC nanocrystals is about 5 nm, as shown in Figure 1B. The electro–catalytic activity for ORR over the synthesized N-doped carbon supported Co3O4 catalyst is closer to that of a commercial Pt/C in O2-saturated 1 M NaOH solution, as shown in Figure 1C. But, under the same condition, the lectro–catalytic activity of the catalyst is much higher than that that of Co3O4/C. It reveals that the N-doping can efficiently contribute the ORR activity. The unusual catalytic activity arises from synergetic chemical coupling effects between Co3O4 and the N-doped carbon material.

Preparation of N-doped carbon supported Co3O4 nanoparticles as electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction

251st National Meeting (2016)

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