The poor electronic conductivity of metal-organic framework(MOF)materials hinders their direct application in the field of electrocatalysis in fuel cells.Herein,we proposed a strategy of embedding carbon nanotubes(CNT...The poor electronic conductivity of metal-organic framework(MOF)materials hinders their direct application in the field of electrocatalysis in fuel cells.Herein,we proposed a strategy of embedding carbon nanotubes(CNTs)during the growth process of MOF crystals,synthesizing a metalloporphyrin-based MOF catalyst TCPPCo-MOF-CNT with a unique CNT-intercalated MOF structure.Physical characterization revealed that the CNTs enhance the overall conductivity while retaining the original characteristics of the MOF and metalloporphyrin.Simultaneously,the insertion of CNTs generated adequate mesopores and created a hierarchical porous structure that enhances mass transfer efficiency.X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis confirmed that the C atom in CNT changed the electron cloud density on the catalytic active center Co,optimizing the electronic structure.Consequently,the E1/2 of the TCPPCo-MOF-CNT catalyst under neutral conditions reached 0.77 V(vs.RHE),outperforming the catalyst without CNTs.When the TCPPCo-MOF-CNT was employed as the cathode catalyst in assembling microbial fuel cells(MFCs)with Nafion-117 as the proton exchange membrane,the maxi-mum power density of MFCs reached approximately 500 mW·m-2.展开更多
The ability to unlock the interplay between the activity and stability of oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)represents an important endeavor toward creating robust ORR catalysts for efficient fuel cells.Herein,we report a...The ability to unlock the interplay between the activity and stability of oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)represents an important endeavor toward creating robust ORR catalysts for efficient fuel cells.Herein,we report an effective strategy to concurrent enhance the activity and stability of ORR catalysts via constructing atomically dispersed Fe-Mn dualmetal sites on N-doped carbon(denoted(FeMn-DA)-N-C)for both anion-exchange membrane fuel cells(AEMFC)and proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEMFC).The(FeMn-DA)-N-C catalysts possess ample dual-metal atoms consisting of adjacent Fe-N_(4)and Mn-N_(4)sites on the carbon surface,yielded via a facile doping-adsorption-pyrolysis route.The introduction of Mn carries several advantageous attributes:increasing the number of active sites,effectively anchoring Fe due to effective electron transfer to Mn(revealed by X-ray absorption spectroscopy and density-functional theory(DFT),thus preventing the aggregation of Fe),and effectively circumventing the occurrence of Fenton reaction,thus reducing the consumption of Fe.The(FeMn-DA)-N-C catalysts showcase half-wave potentials of 0.92 and 0.82 V in 0.1 M KOH and 0.1 M HClO_(4),respectively,as well as outstanding stability.As manifested by DFT calculations,the introduction of Mn affects the electronic structure of Fe,down-shifts the d-band Fe active center,accelerates the desorption of OH groups,and creates higher limiting potentials.The AEMFC and PEMFC with(FeMn-DA)-N-C as the cathode catalyst display high power densities of 1060 and 746 mW cm^(-2),respectively,underscoring their promising potential for practical applications.Our study highlights the robustness of designing Fe-containing dual-atom ORR catalysts to promote both activity and stability for energy conversion and storage materials and devices.展开更多
The oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)could be effectively regulated by adjusting electron configurations and optimizing chemical bonds.Herein,we have achieved the modulation of electron distribution in Fe single atomic(F...The oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)could be effectively regulated by adjusting electron configurations and optimizing chemical bonds.Herein,we have achieved the modulation of electron distribution in Fe single atomic(Fe_(SA))sites through Fe atomic clusters(Fe_(AC))via a confined pyrolysis approach,thereby enhancing their intrinsic ORR activity.X-ray absorption spectroscopy has confirmed that the presence of iron atomic dusters could influence the electron distribution at Fe-N_(4)sites.The Fe_(SA)/Fe_(AC)-NC catalyst exhibits a half-wave potential of 0.88 V,surpassing the individual Fe_(SA)-NC structure.Through electronic structure analysis,it could be seen that iron atom clusters can affect Fe-N_(4)sites through long-range effects,and then effectively lower reaction barriers and enhance the reaction kinetics at Fe-N_(4)sites.The synthetic approach might pave the way for constructing highly active catalysts with tunable atomic structures,representing an effective and universal technique for electron modulation in M-N-C systems.This work provides enlightenment for the exploration of more efficient single-atom electrocatalysts and the optimization of the performance of atomic electrocatalysts.Furthermore,a zinc-air battery assembled using it on their cathode deliver a high peak power density(205.7 mW cm^(-2))and a high-specific capacity of 807.5 mA h g^(-1).This study offers a fresh approach to effectively enhance the synergistic interaction of between Fe single atom and Fe atomic clusters for improving ORR activity and energy storage.展开更多
Transition metal-nitrogen-carbon(M-N-C)as a promising substitute for the conventional noble metalbased catalyst still suffers from low activity and durability for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)in proton exchange membr...Transition metal-nitrogen-carbon(M-N-C)as a promising substitute for the conventional noble metalbased catalyst still suffers from low activity and durability for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)in proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs).To tackle the issue,herein,a new type of sulfur-doped ironnitrogen-hard carbon(S-Fe-N-HC)nanosheets with high activity and durability in acid media were developed by using a newly synthesized precursor of amide-based polymer with Fe ions based on copolymerizing two monomers of 2,5-thiophene dicarboxylic acid(TDA)as S source and 1,8-diaminonaphthalene(DAN)as N source via an amination reaction.The as-synthesized S-Fe-N-HC features highly dispersed atomic Fe Nxmoieties embedded into rich thiophene-S doped hard carbon nanosheets filled with highly twisted graphite-like microcrystals,which is distinguished from the majority of M-N-C with soft or graphitic carbon structures.These unique characteristics endow S-Fe-N-HC with high ORR activity and outstanding durability in 0.5 M H_(2)SO_(4).Its initial half-wave potential is 0.80 V and the corresponding loss is only 21 m V after 30,000 cycles.Meanwhile,its practical PEMFC performance is a maximum power output of 628.0 mW cm^(-2)and a slight power density loss is 83.0 m W cm^(-2)after 200-cycle practical operation.Additionally,theoretical calculation shows that the activity of Fe Nxmoieties on ORR can be further enhanced by sulfur doping at meta-site near FeN_(4)C.These results evidently demonstrate that the dual effect of hard carbon substrate and S doping derived from the precursor platform of amid-polymers can effectively enhance the activity and durability of Fe-N-C catalysts,providing a new guidance for developing advanced M-N-C catalysts for ORR.展开更多
Proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs)are promising next-generation energy conversion devices with advantages including high energy conversion efficiency,low noise,and environmental friendliness.On the PEMFC cath...Proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs)are promising next-generation energy conversion devices with advantages including high energy conversion efficiency,low noise,and environmental friendliness.On the PEMFC cathode,the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)relies heavily on Pt-based catalysts,where PtM_(x)(M stands for transition metal)intermetallic compounds(IMCs)are considered the best choice to enhance the catalytic activity.However,problems such as inadequate catalytic activity,high cost,and insufficient durability,etc.still hamper its commercialization.The optimizations of the catalyst structure,the improvements in the preparation process,and the understanding of the reaction mechanism are of great value.The developments of cathodic oxygen reduction catalysts for PEMFCs will also focus on improving the catalytic activity of intermetallic compound nanoparticles,the utilization rate,and the durability of Pt.Controlling the particle size and particle/carrier interaction remain key issues for future research.The catalyst reaction mechanism,the surface changes of the nanoparticles of Pt(111)face before and after the catalytic reaction,and the targeted regulation of the adsorption strength between the IMCs and oxygen-containing intermediates adjusted by transition metals need to be investigated more specifically and directly.At the application level,the expression of catalyst properties in the catalyst membrane electrode and reactor are the keys to the performance of PEMFCs.Therefore,researches on PEMFCs are still systematic works.This paper summarized the recent process toward the optimization of catalyst preparation,the exploration of new catalysts,and the new understanding of the mechanism.Given the reference to the development of PEMFCs,future research can start from the existing problems,solve the shortcomings of the catalyst,and promote the practical application of PEMFCs.展开更多
Despite substantial efforts in developing high-performance catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR),the persistent challenge lies in the high onset overpotential of the ORR,and the effect of the elec-trolyte s...Despite substantial efforts in developing high-performance catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR),the persistent challenge lies in the high onset overpotential of the ORR,and the effect of the elec-trolyte solution cannot be ignored.Consequently,we have systematically investigated the impact of adsorbate species and concentration,as well as solution pH,on the ORR activity on Pt(111)and Pt(poly)electrodes.The results all tend to establish a linear quantitative relationship between the onset potential for ORR and the adsorption equilibrium potential of the adsorbate.This finding indicates the decisive role of adsorbates in the onset potential for ORR,suggesting that the adsorption potential of adsorbates can serve as an intuitive criterion for ORR activity.Additional support for this conclusion is derived from experimental results obtained from the oxygen evolution reaction on Pt(poly)with different adsorbate species and from the hydrogen evolution reaction on Pt(111)with iodine adsorption.We further propose both an empirical equation for the onset potential for ORR and the concept of a potential-regulated adsor-bate shielding effect to elucidate the influence of adsorbates on ORR activity.This study provides new insights into the high onset overpotential of the ORR and offers potential strategies for predicting and enhancingORRactivity inthefuture.展开更多
Metal-free carbon-based materials offer a promising alternative to Pt-based catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR).However,challenges persist due to its sluggish kinetics and poor acid ORR performance.Here,...Metal-free carbon-based materials offer a promising alternative to Pt-based catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR).However,challenges persist due to its sluggish kinetics and poor acid ORR performance.Here,we introduce a novel nitrogen-doped porous carbon with rich defects sites (such as pentagons,edge and vacancy defects)(PV/HPC) via a simple etching strategy.The PV/HPC demonstrates long-term stability and exceptional catalytic activity with half-wave potential of 0.9 V and average electron transfer number of 3.98 in alkaline solution while 0.78 V and 3.78 in acidic solution,indicating its efficiency and robustness as an ORR catalyst.Additionally,it achieves a higher kinetic current density of 91.9 m A cm^(-2)at 0.8 V,which is 1.75 times that of Pt/C (52.5 mA cm^(-2)).Furthemore,it enables Al-air battery to attain a maximum power density of 487 mW cm^(-2),compared to 477 mW cm^(-2) for the Pt/C catalyst.Density functional theory (DFT) calculations elucidate that the introduction of multifunctional defects in nitrogen-doped porous carbon collectively reduces the reaction energy barrier of the departure of OH*and boosts the oxygen reduction reaction kinetics.This work presents a simple method to design durable and effective carbon-based ORR catalysts.展开更多
Metal-free defective carbon materials with abundant active sites have been widely studied as low-cost and efficient oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)electrocatalysts in metal-air batteries.However,the active sites in def...Metal-free defective carbon materials with abundant active sites have been widely studied as low-cost and efficient oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)electrocatalysts in metal-air batteries.However,the active sites in defective carbon are easily subjected to serious oxidation or hydroxylation during ORR or storage,leading to rapid degradation of activity.Herein,we design a van der Waals heterostructure comprised of vitamin C(VC)and defective carbon(DC)to not only boost the activity but also enhance the durability and storage stability of the DC-VC electrocatalyst.The formation of VC van der Waals between DC and VC is demonstrated to be an effective strategy to protect the defect active sites from oxidation and hydroxylation degradation,thus significantly enhancing the electrochemical durability and storage anti-aging performance.Moreover,the DC-VC van der Waals can reduce the reaction energy barrier to facilitate the ORR.These findings are also confirmed by operando Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations.It is necessary to mention that the preparation of this DC-VC electrocatalyst can be scaled up,and the ORR performance of the largely produced electrocatalyst is demonstrated to be very consistent.Furthermore,the DC-VC-based aluminum-air batteries display very competitive power density with good performance maintenance.展开更多
Developing cost-effective,robust and stable non-precious metal catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) is of paramount importance for electrochemical energy conversion devices such as fuel cells and metal-air bat...Developing cost-effective,robust and stable non-precious metal catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) is of paramount importance for electrochemical energy conversion devices such as fuel cells and metal-air batteries.Although Fe-N-C single atom catalysts(SACs) have been hailed as the most promising candidate due to the optimal binding strength of ORR intermediates on the Fe-N_(4) sites,they suffer from serious mass transport limitations as microporous templates/substrates,i.e.,zeolitic imidazolate frameworks(ZIFs),are usually employed to host the active sites.Motivated by this challenge,we herein develop a hydrogen-bonded organic framework(HOF)-assisted pyrolysis strategy to construct hierarchical micro/mesoporous carbon nanoplates for the deposition of atomically dispersed Fe-N_(4) sites.Such a design is accomplished by employing HOF nanoplates assembled from 2-aminoterephthalic acid(NH_(2)-BDC) and p-phenylenediamine(PDA) as both soft templates and C,N precursors.Benefitting from the structural merits inherited from HOF templates,the optimized catalyst(denoted as Fe-N-C SAC-950) displays outstanding ORR activity with a high half-wave potential of 0.895 V(vs.reversible hydrogen electrode(RHE)) and a small overpotential of 356 mV at 10 mA cm^(-2) for the oxygen evolution reaction(OER).More excitingly,its application potential is further verified by delivering superb rechargeability and cycling stability with a nearly unfading charge-discharge gap of 0.72 V after 160 h.Molecular dynamics(MD) simulations reveal that micro/mesoporous structure is conducive to the rapid mass transfer of O_(2),thus enhancing the ORR performance.In situ Raman results further indicate that the conversion of O_(2) to~*O_(2)-the rate-determining step(RDS) for Fe-N-C SAC-950.This work will provide a versatile strategy to construct single atom catalysts with desirable catalytic properties.展开更多
Spinel metal oxides containing Mn,Co,or Fe(AB_(2)O_(4),A/B=Mn/Fe/Co)are one of the most promising nonPt electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)in alkaline conditions.However,the low conductivity of metal o...Spinel metal oxides containing Mn,Co,or Fe(AB_(2)O_(4),A/B=Mn/Fe/Co)are one of the most promising nonPt electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)in alkaline conditions.However,the low conductivity of metal oxides and the poor intrinsic activities of transition metal sites lead to unsatisfactory ORR performance.In this study,eutectic molten salt(EMS)treatment is employed to reconstruct the atomic arrangement of MnFe_(2)O_(4)electrocatalyst as a prototype for enhancing ORR performance.Comprehensive analyses by using XAFS,soft XAS,XPS,and electrochemical methods reveal that the EMS treatment reduces the oxygen vacancies and spinel inverse in MnFe_(2)O_(4)effectively,which improves the electric conductivity and increases the population of more catalytically active Mn^(2+)sites with tetrahedral coordination.Moreover,the enhanced Mn-O interaction after EMS treatment is conducive to the adsorption and activation of O_(2),which promotes the first electron transfer step(generally considered as the ratedetermining step)of the ORR process.As a result,the EMS treated MnFe_(2)O_(4)catalyst delivers a positive shift of 40 mV in the ORR half-wave potential and a two-fold enhanced mass/specific activity.This work provides a convenient approach to manipulate the atomic architecture and local electronic structure of spinel oxides as ORR electrocatalysts and a comprehensive understanding of the structureperformance relationship from the molecular/atomic scale.展开更多
Fe-N-doped carbon materials(Fe-N-C)are promising candidates for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)relative to Pt-based catalysts in proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs).However,the intrinsic contributions of Fe-N_(...Fe-N-doped carbon materials(Fe-N-C)are promising candidates for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)relative to Pt-based catalysts in proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs).However,the intrinsic contributions of Fe-N_(4)moiety with different chemical/spin states(e.g.D1,D2,D3)to ORR are unclear since various states coexist inevitably.In the present work,Fe-N-C core-shell nanocatalyst with single lowspin Fe(Ⅱ)-N_(4)species(D1)is synthesized and identified with ex-situ ultralow temperature Mossbauer spectroscopy(T=1.6 K)that could essentially differentiate various Fe-N_(4)states and invisible Fe-O species.By quantifying with CO-pulse chemisorption,site density and turnover frequency of Fe-N-C catalysts reach 2.4×10^(-9)site g^(-1)and 23 e site~(-1)s^(-1)during the ORR,respectively.Half-wave potential(0.915V_(RHE))of the Fe-N-C catalyst is more positive(approximately 54 mV)than that of Pt/C.Moreover,we observe that the performance of PEMFCs on Fe-N-C almost achieves the 2025 target of the US Department of Energy by demonstrating a current density of 1.037 A cm^(-2)combined with the peak power density of 0,685 W cm^(-2),suggesting the critical role of Fe(Ⅱ)-N_(4)site(D1).After 500 h of running,PEMFCs still deliver a power density of 1.26 W cm^(-2)at 1.0 bar H_(2)-O_(2),An unexpected rate-determining step is figured out by isotopic labelling experiment and theoretical calculation.This work not only offers valuable insights regarding the intrinsic contribution of Fe-N_(4)with a single spin state to alkaline/acidic ORR,but also provides great opportunities for developing high-performance stable PEMFCs.展开更多
The efficacy of the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) in fuel cells can be significantly enhanced by optimizing cobalt-based catalysts,which provide a more stable alternative to iron-based catalysts.However,their perform...The efficacy of the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) in fuel cells can be significantly enhanced by optimizing cobalt-based catalysts,which provide a more stable alternative to iron-based catalysts.However,their performance is often impeded by weak adsorption of oxygen species,leading to a 2e^(-)pathway that negatively affects fuel cell discharge efficiency.Here,we engineered a high-density cobalt active center catalyst,coordinated with nitrogen and sulfur atoms on a porous carbon substrate.Both experimental and theoretical analyses highlighted the role of sulfur atoms as electron donors,disrupting the charge symmetry of the original Co active center and promoting enhanced interaction with Co 3d orbitals.This modification improves the adsorption of oxygen and reaction intermediates during ORR,significantly reducing the production of hydrogen peroxide(H_(2)O_(2)).Remarkably,the optimized catalyst demonstrated superior fuel cell performance,with peak power densities of 1.32 W cm^(-2) in oxygen and 0.61 W cm^(-2) in air environments,respectively.A significant decrease in H_(2)O_(2) by-product accumulation was observed during the reaction process,reducing catalyst and membrane damage and consequently improving fuel cell durability.This study emphasizes the critical role of coordination symmetry in Co/N/C catalysts and proposes an effective strategy to enhance fuel cell performance.展开更多
Atomically dispersed catalysts exhibit significant influence on facilitating the sluggish oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)kinetics with high atom economy,owing to remarkable attributes including nearly 100%atomic utiliz...Atomically dispersed catalysts exhibit significant influence on facilitating the sluggish oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)kinetics with high atom economy,owing to remarkable attributes including nearly 100%atomic utilization and exceptional catalytic functionality.Furthermore,accurately controlling atomic physical properties including spin,charge,orbital,and lattice degrees of atomically dispersed catalysts can realize the optimized chemical properties including maximum atom utilization efficiency,homogenous active centers,and satisfactory catalytic performance,but remains elusive.Here,through physical and chemical insight,we review and systematically summarize the strategies to optimize atomically dispersed ORR catalysts including adjusting the atomic coordination environment,adjacent electronic orbital and site density,and the choice of dual-atom sites.Then the emphasis is on the fundamental understanding of the correlation between the physical property and the catalytic behavior for atomically dispersed catalysts.Finally,an overview of the existing challenges and prospects to illustrate the current obstacles and potential opportunities for the advancement of atomically dispersed catalysts in the realm of electrocatalytic reactions is offered.展开更多
Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction has attracted increasing attention due to its goal of low carbon emission and environmental protection.Here,we report an efficient NitRR catalyst composed of single Mn sites...Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction has attracted increasing attention due to its goal of low carbon emission and environmental protection.Here,we report an efficient NitRR catalyst composed of single Mn sites with atomically dispersed oxygen(O)coordination on bacterial cellulose-converted graphitic carbon(Mn-O-C).Evidence of the atomically dispersed Mn-(O-C_(2))_(4)moieties embedding in the exposed basal plane of carbon surface is confirmed by X-ray absorption spectroscopy.As a result,the as-synthesized Mn-O-C catalyst exhibits superior NitRR activity with an NH_(3)yield rate(RNH_(3))of 1476.9±62.6μg h^(−1)cm^(−2)at−0.7 V(vs.reversible hydrogen electrode,RHE)and a faradaic efficiency(FE)of 89.0±3.8%at−0.5 V(vs.RHE)under ambient conditions.Further,when evaluated with a practical flow cell,Mn-O-C shows a high RNH_(3)of 3706.7±552.0μg h^(−1)cm^(−2)at a current density of 100 mA cm−2,2.5 times of that in the H cell.The in situ FT-IR and Raman spectroscopic studies combined with theoretical calculations indicate that the Mn-(O-C_(2))_(4)sites not only effectively inhibit the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction,but also greatly promote the adsorption and activation of nitrate(NO_(3)^(−)),thus boosting both the FE and selectivity of NH_(3)over Mn-(O-C_(2))_(4)sites.展开更多
The long-range periodically ordered atomic structures in intermetallic nanoparticles(INPs)can significantly enhance both the electrocatalytic activity and electrochemical stability toward the oxygen reduction reaction...The long-range periodically ordered atomic structures in intermetallic nanoparticles(INPs)can significantly enhance both the electrocatalytic activity and electrochemical stability toward the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)compared to the disordered atomic structures in ordinary solid-solution alloy NPs.Accordingly,through a facile and scalable synthetic method,a series of carbon-supported ultrafine Pt_3Co_(x)Mn_(1-x)ternary INPs are prepared in this work,which possess the"skin-like"ultrathin Pt shells,the ordered L1_(2) atomic structure,and the high-even dispersion on supports(L1_(2)-Pt_3Co_(x)Mn_(1-x)/~SPt INPs/C).Electrochemical results present that the composition-optimized L1_(2)-Pt_3Co_(0.7)Mn_(0.3)/~SPt INPs/C exhibits the highest electrocata lytic activity among the series,which are also much better than those of the pristine ultrafine Pt/C.Besides,it also has a greatly enhanced electrochemical stability.In addition,the effects of annealing temperature and time are further investigated.More importantly,such superior ORR electrocatalytic performance of L1_(2)-Pt_3Co_(0.7)Mn_(0.3)/~SPt INPs/C are also well demonstrated in practical fuel cells.Physicochemical characterization analyses further reveal the major origins of the greatly enhanced ORR electrocata lytic performance:the Pt-Co-Mn alloy-induced geometric and ligand effects as well as the extremely high L1_(2) atomic-ordering degree.This work not only successfully develops a highly active and stable ordered ternary intermetallic ORR electrocatalyst,but also elucidates the corresponding"structure-function"relationship,which can be further applied in designing other intermetallic(electro)catalysts.展开更多
To search the new effective nitrogen reduction reaction(NRR)electrocatalyst is very important for the ammonia-based industry.Herein,we reported the design of a novel NRR electrocatalyst with Ru NPs loaded on oxygen-va...To search the new effective nitrogen reduction reaction(NRR)electrocatalyst is very important for the ammonia-based industry.Herein,we reported the design of a novel NRR electrocatalyst with Ru NPs loaded on oxygen-vacancy TiO2(Ru/TiO2-Vo).Structural characterizations revealed that oxygen vacancy was loaded in the matrix of Ru/TiO2-Vo.Electrocatalytic results indicated that Ru/TiO2-Vo showed good NRR performance(2.11μg h^-1 cm^-2).Contrast tests showed that NRR property of Ru/TiO2-Vo was much better than those of Ru/TiO-12(B)(0.53μg hcm^-2)and Ru/P25(0.42μg h^-1 cm^-2).Furthermore,density functional theory calculation results indicated catalytic mechanism of NRR and rate-determining step(*N2+1/2 H2→*N+*NH)was the potential-determining step with the overpotential requirement of 0.21 V.A combination of electronic structure analysis and catalytic measurement shed light on the synergistic effect of Ru and oxygen vacancy on the NRR performance.展开更多
The main difficulty in the extensive commercial use of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells （PEMFCs） is the use of noble metals such as Pt-based electrocatalyst at the cathode, which is essential to ease the oxyg...The main difficulty in the extensive commercial use of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells （PEMFCs） is the use of noble metals such as Pt-based electrocatalyst at the cathode, which is essential to ease the oxygen reduction reaction （ORR） in fuel cells （FCs）. To eliminate the high loading of Pt-based electrocatalysts to minimize the cost, extensive study has been carried out over the previous decades on the non-noble metal catalysts. Development in enhancing the ORR performance of FCs is mainly due to the doped carbon materials, Fe and Co-based electrocatalysts, these materials could be considered as probable substitutes for Pt-based catalysts. But the stability of these non-noble metal electrocatalysts is low and the durability of these metals remains unclear. The three basic reasons of instability are： （i） oxidative occurrence by H2O2, （ii） leakage of the metal site and （iii） protonation by probable anion adsorption of the active site. Whereas leakage of the metal site has been almost solved, more work is required to understand and avoid losses from oxidative attack and protonation. The ORR performance such as stability tests are usually run at low current densities and the lifetime is much shorter than desired need. Therefore, improvement in the ORR activity and stability afe the key issues of the non-noble metal electrocatalyst. Based on the consequences obtained in this area, numerous future research directions are projected and discussed in this paper. Hence, this review is focused on improvement of stability and durability of the non-noble metal electrocatalyst.展开更多
Nowadays,hierarchically macro-/meso-/microporous 3D carbon materials have been paid more attention due to their imaginative application potential in specific electrochemistry.Here,we report a dualtemplate strategy usi...Nowadays,hierarchically macro-/meso-/microporous 3D carbon materials have been paid more attention due to their imaginative application potential in specific electrochemistry.Here,we report a dualtemplate strategy using eutectic NaCl/ZnCl2 melt as airtight and swelling agent to obtain 3D mesoporous skeleton structured carbon from renewable lignin.The prepared lignin-derived biocarbon material(LN-3-1)has a high specific surface area(1289 m^2 g^-1),a large pore volume(2.80 cm^3 g^-1),and a well-connected and stable structure.LN-3-1 exhibits extremely high activity and stability in acidic medium for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR),superior to Pt/C catalyst and most non noble-metal catalysts reported in recent literatures.The prepared carbon material was used as a cathode catalyst to assemble a H2-O2 single fuel cell,and its excellent catalytic performance has been confirmed with the maximum power density of 779 mW cm^-2,which is one of the highest power densities among non-metallic catalysts so far.Density functional theory(DFT)calculations indicate that the synergy of chlorine and nitrogen reconciles the intermediate adsorption energies,leading to an appropriate theoretical ORR onset potential.We develop a cost-effective and highly efficient method to prepare biocarbon catalyst for ORR in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells.展开更多
A series of triple hierarchical micro-mesomacroporous N-doped carbon shells with hollow cores have been successfully prepared via etching N-doped hollow carbon spheres with CO_2 at high temperatures.The surface areas,...A series of triple hierarchical micro-mesomacroporous N-doped carbon shells with hollow cores have been successfully prepared via etching N-doped hollow carbon spheres with CO_2 at high temperatures.The surface areas, total pore volumes and microporepercentages of the CO_2-activated samples evidently increase with increasing activation temperature from 800 to950 °C, while the N contents show a contrary trend from7.6 to 3.8 at%. The pyridinic and graphitic nitrogen groups are dominant among various N-containing groups in the samples. The 950 °C-activated sample(CANHCS-950) has the largest surface area(2072 m^2 g^(-1)), pore volume(1.96 cm^3 g^(-1)), hierarchical micro-mesopore distributions(1.2, 2.6 and 6.2 nm), hollow macropore cores(*91 nm)and highest relative content of pyridinic and graphitic N groups. This triple micro-meso-macropore system could synergistically enhance the activity because macropores could store up the reactant, mesopores could reduce the transport resistance of the reactants to the active sites, and micropores could be in favor of the accumulation of ions.Therefore, the CANHCS-950 with optimized structure shows the optimal and comparable oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) activity but superior methanol tolerance and long-term durability to commercial Pt/C with a 4 e--dominant transfer pathway in alkaline media. These excellent properties in combination with good stability and recyclability make CANHCSs among the most promising metal-free ORR electrocatalysts reported so far in practical applications.展开更多
Renewable lignin used for synthesizing materials has been proven to be highly potential in specific electrochemistry.Here,we report a simple method to synthesize nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon nanosheets by using...Renewable lignin used for synthesizing materials has been proven to be highly potential in specific electrochemistry.Here,we report a simple method to synthesize nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon nanosheets by using bagasse lignin,denoted as lignin-derived carbon(LC).By adjusting the ratio of nitrogen source and annealing temperature,we obtained the ultrathin graphitic lignin carbon(LC-4-1000)with abundant wrinkles with high surface area of 1208 m2g_1 and large pore volume of 1.40 cm3g_1.In alkaline medium,LC-4-1000 has more positive half-wave potential and nearly current density compared to commercial Pt/C for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR).More importantly,LC-4-1000 also exhibits comparable activity and superior stability for ORR in acid medium due to its high graphitic N ratio and a direct four electron pathway for ORR.This study develops a cost-effective and highly efficient method to prepare biocarbon catalyst for ORR in fuel cells.展开更多
基金the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.22178307)China Southern Power Grid(Grant Nos.0470002022030103HX00002-01).
文摘The poor electronic conductivity of metal-organic framework(MOF)materials hinders their direct application in the field of electrocatalysis in fuel cells.Herein,we proposed a strategy of embedding carbon nanotubes(CNTs)during the growth process of MOF crystals,synthesizing a metalloporphyrin-based MOF catalyst TCPPCo-MOF-CNT with a unique CNT-intercalated MOF structure.Physical characterization revealed that the CNTs enhance the overall conductivity while retaining the original characteristics of the MOF and metalloporphyrin.Simultaneously,the insertion of CNTs generated adequate mesopores and created a hierarchical porous structure that enhances mass transfer efficiency.X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis confirmed that the C atom in CNT changed the electron cloud density on the catalytic active center Co,optimizing the electronic structure.Consequently,the E1/2 of the TCPPCo-MOF-CNT catalyst under neutral conditions reached 0.77 V(vs.RHE),outperforming the catalyst without CNTs.When the TCPPCo-MOF-CNT was employed as the cathode catalyst in assembling microbial fuel cells(MFCs)with Nafion-117 as the proton exchange membrane,the maxi-mum power density of MFCs reached approximately 500 mW·m-2.
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2021YFF0500504)National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51976169)the financial supports from the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities。
文摘The ability to unlock the interplay between the activity and stability of oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)represents an important endeavor toward creating robust ORR catalysts for efficient fuel cells.Herein,we report an effective strategy to concurrent enhance the activity and stability of ORR catalysts via constructing atomically dispersed Fe-Mn dualmetal sites on N-doped carbon(denoted(FeMn-DA)-N-C)for both anion-exchange membrane fuel cells(AEMFC)and proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEMFC).The(FeMn-DA)-N-C catalysts possess ample dual-metal atoms consisting of adjacent Fe-N_(4)and Mn-N_(4)sites on the carbon surface,yielded via a facile doping-adsorption-pyrolysis route.The introduction of Mn carries several advantageous attributes:increasing the number of active sites,effectively anchoring Fe due to effective electron transfer to Mn(revealed by X-ray absorption spectroscopy and density-functional theory(DFT),thus preventing the aggregation of Fe),and effectively circumventing the occurrence of Fenton reaction,thus reducing the consumption of Fe.The(FeMn-DA)-N-C catalysts showcase half-wave potentials of 0.92 and 0.82 V in 0.1 M KOH and 0.1 M HClO_(4),respectively,as well as outstanding stability.As manifested by DFT calculations,the introduction of Mn affects the electronic structure of Fe,down-shifts the d-band Fe active center,accelerates the desorption of OH groups,and creates higher limiting potentials.The AEMFC and PEMFC with(FeMn-DA)-N-C as the cathode catalyst display high power densities of 1060 and 746 mW cm^(-2),respectively,underscoring their promising potential for practical applications.Our study highlights the robustness of designing Fe-containing dual-atom ORR catalysts to promote both activity and stability for energy conversion and storage materials and devices.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundations of China(Nos:22271018,22309012 and 22302013)the NSF of Guangdong Province(Nos:2023A1515010554 and 2024A1515010307)。
文摘The oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)could be effectively regulated by adjusting electron configurations and optimizing chemical bonds.Herein,we have achieved the modulation of electron distribution in Fe single atomic(Fe_(SA))sites through Fe atomic clusters(Fe_(AC))via a confined pyrolysis approach,thereby enhancing their intrinsic ORR activity.X-ray absorption spectroscopy has confirmed that the presence of iron atomic dusters could influence the electron distribution at Fe-N_(4)sites.The Fe_(SA)/Fe_(AC)-NC catalyst exhibits a half-wave potential of 0.88 V,surpassing the individual Fe_(SA)-NC structure.Through electronic structure analysis,it could be seen that iron atom clusters can affect Fe-N_(4)sites through long-range effects,and then effectively lower reaction barriers and enhance the reaction kinetics at Fe-N_(4)sites.The synthetic approach might pave the way for constructing highly active catalysts with tunable atomic structures,representing an effective and universal technique for electron modulation in M-N-C systems.This work provides enlightenment for the exploration of more efficient single-atom electrocatalysts and the optimization of the performance of atomic electrocatalysts.Furthermore,a zinc-air battery assembled using it on their cathode deliver a high peak power density(205.7 mW cm^(-2))and a high-specific capacity of 807.5 mA h g^(-1).This study offers a fresh approach to effectively enhance the synergistic interaction of between Fe single atom and Fe atomic clusters for improving ORR activity and energy storage.
基金finically supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(22075055)the Guangxi Science and Technology Project(AB16380030)。
文摘Transition metal-nitrogen-carbon(M-N-C)as a promising substitute for the conventional noble metalbased catalyst still suffers from low activity and durability for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)in proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs).To tackle the issue,herein,a new type of sulfur-doped ironnitrogen-hard carbon(S-Fe-N-HC)nanosheets with high activity and durability in acid media were developed by using a newly synthesized precursor of amide-based polymer with Fe ions based on copolymerizing two monomers of 2,5-thiophene dicarboxylic acid(TDA)as S source and 1,8-diaminonaphthalene(DAN)as N source via an amination reaction.The as-synthesized S-Fe-N-HC features highly dispersed atomic Fe Nxmoieties embedded into rich thiophene-S doped hard carbon nanosheets filled with highly twisted graphite-like microcrystals,which is distinguished from the majority of M-N-C with soft or graphitic carbon structures.These unique characteristics endow S-Fe-N-HC with high ORR activity and outstanding durability in 0.5 M H_(2)SO_(4).Its initial half-wave potential is 0.80 V and the corresponding loss is only 21 m V after 30,000 cycles.Meanwhile,its practical PEMFC performance is a maximum power output of 628.0 mW cm^(-2)and a slight power density loss is 83.0 m W cm^(-2)after 200-cycle practical operation.Additionally,theoretical calculation shows that the activity of Fe Nxmoieties on ORR can be further enhanced by sulfur doping at meta-site near FeN_(4)C.These results evidently demonstrate that the dual effect of hard carbon substrate and S doping derived from the precursor platform of amid-polymers can effectively enhance the activity and durability of Fe-N-C catalysts,providing a new guidance for developing advanced M-N-C catalysts for ORR.
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2022YFB4004100)National Natural Science Foundation of China(U22A20396,22209168)Natural Science Foundation of Anhui Province(2208085UD04)。
文摘Proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs)are promising next-generation energy conversion devices with advantages including high energy conversion efficiency,low noise,and environmental friendliness.On the PEMFC cathode,the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)relies heavily on Pt-based catalysts,where PtM_(x)(M stands for transition metal)intermetallic compounds(IMCs)are considered the best choice to enhance the catalytic activity.However,problems such as inadequate catalytic activity,high cost,and insufficient durability,etc.still hamper its commercialization.The optimizations of the catalyst structure,the improvements in the preparation process,and the understanding of the reaction mechanism are of great value.The developments of cathodic oxygen reduction catalysts for PEMFCs will also focus on improving the catalytic activity of intermetallic compound nanoparticles,the utilization rate,and the durability of Pt.Controlling the particle size and particle/carrier interaction remain key issues for future research.The catalyst reaction mechanism,the surface changes of the nanoparticles of Pt(111)face before and after the catalytic reaction,and the targeted regulation of the adsorption strength between the IMCs and oxygen-containing intermediates adjusted by transition metals need to be investigated more specifically and directly.At the application level,the expression of catalyst properties in the catalyst membrane electrode and reactor are the keys to the performance of PEMFCs.Therefore,researches on PEMFCs are still systematic works.This paper summarized the recent process toward the optimization of catalyst preparation,the exploration of new catalysts,and the new understanding of the mechanism.Given the reference to the development of PEMFCs,future research can start from the existing problems,solve the shortcomings of the catalyst,and promote the practical application of PEMFCs.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(no.22372154,21972131).
文摘Despite substantial efforts in developing high-performance catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR),the persistent challenge lies in the high onset overpotential of the ORR,and the effect of the elec-trolyte solution cannot be ignored.Consequently,we have systematically investigated the impact of adsorbate species and concentration,as well as solution pH,on the ORR activity on Pt(111)and Pt(poly)electrodes.The results all tend to establish a linear quantitative relationship between the onset potential for ORR and the adsorption equilibrium potential of the adsorbate.This finding indicates the decisive role of adsorbates in the onset potential for ORR,suggesting that the adsorption potential of adsorbates can serve as an intuitive criterion for ORR activity.Additional support for this conclusion is derived from experimental results obtained from the oxygen evolution reaction on Pt(poly)with different adsorbate species and from the hydrogen evolution reaction on Pt(111)with iodine adsorption.We further propose both an empirical equation for the onset potential for ORR and the concept of a potential-regulated adsor-bate shielding effect to elucidate the influence of adsorbates on ORR activity.This study provides new insights into the high onset overpotential of the ORR and offers potential strategies for predicting and enhancingORRactivity inthefuture.
基金financially supported by the Joint Funds of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U20A20280)the Joint Funds of the National Natural Science Foundation of China(U22A20170)。
文摘Metal-free carbon-based materials offer a promising alternative to Pt-based catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR).However,challenges persist due to its sluggish kinetics and poor acid ORR performance.Here,we introduce a novel nitrogen-doped porous carbon with rich defects sites (such as pentagons,edge and vacancy defects)(PV/HPC) via a simple etching strategy.The PV/HPC demonstrates long-term stability and exceptional catalytic activity with half-wave potential of 0.9 V and average electron transfer number of 3.98 in alkaline solution while 0.78 V and 3.78 in acidic solution,indicating its efficiency and robustness as an ORR catalyst.Additionally,it achieves a higher kinetic current density of 91.9 m A cm^(-2)at 0.8 V,which is 1.75 times that of Pt/C (52.5 mA cm^(-2)).Furthemore,it enables Al-air battery to attain a maximum power density of 487 mW cm^(-2),compared to 477 mW cm^(-2) for the Pt/C catalyst.Density functional theory (DFT) calculations elucidate that the introduction of multifunctional defects in nitrogen-doped porous carbon collectively reduces the reaction energy barrier of the departure of OH*and boosts the oxygen reduction reaction kinetics.This work presents a simple method to design durable and effective carbon-based ORR catalysts.
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51874197)the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (21ZR1429400,22ZR1429700)。
文摘Metal-free defective carbon materials with abundant active sites have been widely studied as low-cost and efficient oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)electrocatalysts in metal-air batteries.However,the active sites in defective carbon are easily subjected to serious oxidation or hydroxylation during ORR or storage,leading to rapid degradation of activity.Herein,we design a van der Waals heterostructure comprised of vitamin C(VC)and defective carbon(DC)to not only boost the activity but also enhance the durability and storage stability of the DC-VC electrocatalyst.The formation of VC van der Waals between DC and VC is demonstrated to be an effective strategy to protect the defect active sites from oxidation and hydroxylation degradation,thus significantly enhancing the electrochemical durability and storage anti-aging performance.Moreover,the DC-VC van der Waals can reduce the reaction energy barrier to facilitate the ORR.These findings are also confirmed by operando Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations.It is necessary to mention that the preparation of this DC-VC electrocatalyst can be scaled up,and the ORR performance of the largely produced electrocatalyst is demonstrated to be very consistent.Furthermore,the DC-VC-based aluminum-air batteries display very competitive power density with good performance maintenance.
基金financially supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(2022YFB4004100)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(22272161)+6 种基金the Jilin Province Science and Technology Development Program(20230101367JC)financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(22073094)the Science and Technology Development Program of Jilin Province(20210402059GH)the Science and Technology Plan Projects of Yunnan Province(202101BC070001–007)the Major Science and Technology Projects for Independent Innovation of China FAW Group Co.,Ltd(20220301018GX)the essential support of the Network and Computing Center,CIAC,CASthe Computing Center of Jilin Province。
文摘Developing cost-effective,robust and stable non-precious metal catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) is of paramount importance for electrochemical energy conversion devices such as fuel cells and metal-air batteries.Although Fe-N-C single atom catalysts(SACs) have been hailed as the most promising candidate due to the optimal binding strength of ORR intermediates on the Fe-N_(4) sites,they suffer from serious mass transport limitations as microporous templates/substrates,i.e.,zeolitic imidazolate frameworks(ZIFs),are usually employed to host the active sites.Motivated by this challenge,we herein develop a hydrogen-bonded organic framework(HOF)-assisted pyrolysis strategy to construct hierarchical micro/mesoporous carbon nanoplates for the deposition of atomically dispersed Fe-N_(4) sites.Such a design is accomplished by employing HOF nanoplates assembled from 2-aminoterephthalic acid(NH_(2)-BDC) and p-phenylenediamine(PDA) as both soft templates and C,N precursors.Benefitting from the structural merits inherited from HOF templates,the optimized catalyst(denoted as Fe-N-C SAC-950) displays outstanding ORR activity with a high half-wave potential of 0.895 V(vs.reversible hydrogen electrode(RHE)) and a small overpotential of 356 mV at 10 mA cm^(-2) for the oxygen evolution reaction(OER).More excitingly,its application potential is further verified by delivering superb rechargeability and cycling stability with a nearly unfading charge-discharge gap of 0.72 V after 160 h.Molecular dynamics(MD) simulations reveal that micro/mesoporous structure is conducive to the rapid mass transfer of O_(2),thus enhancing the ORR performance.In situ Raman results further indicate that the conversion of O_(2) to~*O_(2)-the rate-determining step(RDS) for Fe-N-C SAC-950.This work will provide a versatile strategy to construct single atom catalysts with desirable catalytic properties.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (12241502,52002367)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (20720220010)the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2019YFA0405602)。
文摘Spinel metal oxides containing Mn,Co,or Fe(AB_(2)O_(4),A/B=Mn/Fe/Co)are one of the most promising nonPt electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)in alkaline conditions.However,the low conductivity of metal oxides and the poor intrinsic activities of transition metal sites lead to unsatisfactory ORR performance.In this study,eutectic molten salt(EMS)treatment is employed to reconstruct the atomic arrangement of MnFe_(2)O_(4)electrocatalyst as a prototype for enhancing ORR performance.Comprehensive analyses by using XAFS,soft XAS,XPS,and electrochemical methods reveal that the EMS treatment reduces the oxygen vacancies and spinel inverse in MnFe_(2)O_(4)effectively,which improves the electric conductivity and increases the population of more catalytically active Mn^(2+)sites with tetrahedral coordination.Moreover,the enhanced Mn-O interaction after EMS treatment is conducive to the adsorption and activation of O_(2),which promotes the first electron transfer step(generally considered as the ratedetermining step)of the ORR process.As a result,the EMS treated MnFe_(2)O_(4)catalyst delivers a positive shift of 40 mV in the ORR half-wave potential and a two-fold enhanced mass/specific activity.This work provides a convenient approach to manipulate the atomic architecture and local electronic structure of spinel oxides as ORR electrocatalysts and a comprehensive understanding of the structureperformance relationship from the molecular/atomic scale.
基金financial support from the“Hundred Talents Program”of the Chinese Academy of Sciencesthe“Young Talents Training Program”of the Shanghai Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences+3 种基金the financial support from the Xiamen City Natural Science Foundation of China(3502Z20227085,3502Z20227256)the National Science Youth Foundation of China(22202205)the Fujian Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China(2022J01502)Open Source Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry。
文摘Fe-N-doped carbon materials(Fe-N-C)are promising candidates for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)relative to Pt-based catalysts in proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs).However,the intrinsic contributions of Fe-N_(4)moiety with different chemical/spin states(e.g.D1,D2,D3)to ORR are unclear since various states coexist inevitably.In the present work,Fe-N-C core-shell nanocatalyst with single lowspin Fe(Ⅱ)-N_(4)species(D1)is synthesized and identified with ex-situ ultralow temperature Mossbauer spectroscopy(T=1.6 K)that could essentially differentiate various Fe-N_(4)states and invisible Fe-O species.By quantifying with CO-pulse chemisorption,site density and turnover frequency of Fe-N-C catalysts reach 2.4×10^(-9)site g^(-1)and 23 e site~(-1)s^(-1)during the ORR,respectively.Half-wave potential(0.915V_(RHE))of the Fe-N-C catalyst is more positive(approximately 54 mV)than that of Pt/C.Moreover,we observe that the performance of PEMFCs on Fe-N-C almost achieves the 2025 target of the US Department of Energy by demonstrating a current density of 1.037 A cm^(-2)combined with the peak power density of 0,685 W cm^(-2),suggesting the critical role of Fe(Ⅱ)-N_(4)site(D1).After 500 h of running,PEMFCs still deliver a power density of 1.26 W cm^(-2)at 1.0 bar H_(2)-O_(2),An unexpected rate-determining step is figured out by isotopic labelling experiment and theoretical calculation.This work not only offers valuable insights regarding the intrinsic contribution of Fe-N_(4)with a single spin state to alkaline/acidic ORR,but also provides great opportunities for developing high-performance stable PEMFCs.
基金financially National Natural Science Foundation of China (22288102, 22172134, U1932201, U2032202)Science and Technology Planning Project of Fujian Province (2022H0002)support from the EPSRC (EP/W03784X/1)。
文摘The efficacy of the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) in fuel cells can be significantly enhanced by optimizing cobalt-based catalysts,which provide a more stable alternative to iron-based catalysts.However,their performance is often impeded by weak adsorption of oxygen species,leading to a 2e^(-)pathway that negatively affects fuel cell discharge efficiency.Here,we engineered a high-density cobalt active center catalyst,coordinated with nitrogen and sulfur atoms on a porous carbon substrate.Both experimental and theoretical analyses highlighted the role of sulfur atoms as electron donors,disrupting the charge symmetry of the original Co active center and promoting enhanced interaction with Co 3d orbitals.This modification improves the adsorption of oxygen and reaction intermediates during ORR,significantly reducing the production of hydrogen peroxide(H_(2)O_(2)).Remarkably,the optimized catalyst demonstrated superior fuel cell performance,with peak power densities of 1.32 W cm^(-2) in oxygen and 0.61 W cm^(-2) in air environments,respectively.A significant decrease in H_(2)O_(2) by-product accumulation was observed during the reaction process,reducing catalyst and membrane damage and consequently improving fuel cell durability.This study emphasizes the critical role of coordination symmetry in Co/N/C catalysts and proposes an effective strategy to enhance fuel cell performance.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(22234005,21974070)the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province(BK20222015)。
文摘Atomically dispersed catalysts exhibit significant influence on facilitating the sluggish oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)kinetics with high atom economy,owing to remarkable attributes including nearly 100%atomic utilization and exceptional catalytic functionality.Furthermore,accurately controlling atomic physical properties including spin,charge,orbital,and lattice degrees of atomically dispersed catalysts can realize the optimized chemical properties including maximum atom utilization efficiency,homogenous active centers,and satisfactory catalytic performance,but remains elusive.Here,through physical and chemical insight,we review and systematically summarize the strategies to optimize atomically dispersed ORR catalysts including adjusting the atomic coordination environment,adjacent electronic orbital and site density,and the choice of dual-atom sites.Then the emphasis is on the fundamental understanding of the correlation between the physical property and the catalytic behavior for atomically dispersed catalysts.Finally,an overview of the existing challenges and prospects to illustrate the current obstacles and potential opportunities for the advancement of atomically dispersed catalysts in the realm of electrocatalytic reactions is offered.
基金the financial support from the Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.52172106)Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation(Grant Nos.2108085QB60 and 2108085QB61)China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(Grant Nos.2020M682057 and 2023T160651).
文摘Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction has attracted increasing attention due to its goal of low carbon emission and environmental protection.Here,we report an efficient NitRR catalyst composed of single Mn sites with atomically dispersed oxygen(O)coordination on bacterial cellulose-converted graphitic carbon(Mn-O-C).Evidence of the atomically dispersed Mn-(O-C_(2))_(4)moieties embedding in the exposed basal plane of carbon surface is confirmed by X-ray absorption spectroscopy.As a result,the as-synthesized Mn-O-C catalyst exhibits superior NitRR activity with an NH_(3)yield rate(RNH_(3))of 1476.9±62.6μg h^(−1)cm^(−2)at−0.7 V(vs.reversible hydrogen electrode,RHE)and a faradaic efficiency(FE)of 89.0±3.8%at−0.5 V(vs.RHE)under ambient conditions.Further,when evaluated with a practical flow cell,Mn-O-C shows a high RNH_(3)of 3706.7±552.0μg h^(−1)cm^(−2)at a current density of 100 mA cm−2,2.5 times of that in the H cell.The in situ FT-IR and Raman spectroscopic studies combined with theoretical calculations indicate that the Mn-(O-C_(2))_(4)sites not only effectively inhibit the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction,but also greatly promote the adsorption and activation of nitrate(NO_(3)^(−)),thus boosting both the FE and selectivity of NH_(3)over Mn-(O-C_(2))_(4)sites.
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2021YFB4001301)the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality(21DZ1208600)the Oceanic Interdisciplinary Program of Shanghai Jiao Tong University(SL2021ZD105)。
文摘The long-range periodically ordered atomic structures in intermetallic nanoparticles(INPs)can significantly enhance both the electrocatalytic activity and electrochemical stability toward the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)compared to the disordered atomic structures in ordinary solid-solution alloy NPs.Accordingly,through a facile and scalable synthetic method,a series of carbon-supported ultrafine Pt_3Co_(x)Mn_(1-x)ternary INPs are prepared in this work,which possess the"skin-like"ultrathin Pt shells,the ordered L1_(2) atomic structure,and the high-even dispersion on supports(L1_(2)-Pt_3Co_(x)Mn_(1-x)/~SPt INPs/C).Electrochemical results present that the composition-optimized L1_(2)-Pt_3Co_(0.7)Mn_(0.3)/~SPt INPs/C exhibits the highest electrocata lytic activity among the series,which are also much better than those of the pristine ultrafine Pt/C.Besides,it also has a greatly enhanced electrochemical stability.In addition,the effects of annealing temperature and time are further investigated.More importantly,such superior ORR electrocatalytic performance of L1_(2)-Pt_3Co_(0.7)Mn_(0.3)/~SPt INPs/C are also well demonstrated in practical fuel cells.Physicochemical characterization analyses further reveal the major origins of the greatly enhanced ORR electrocata lytic performance:the Pt-Co-Mn alloy-induced geometric and ligand effects as well as the extremely high L1_(2) atomic-ordering degree.This work not only successfully develops a highly active and stable ordered ternary intermetallic ORR electrocatalyst,but also elucidates the corresponding"structure-function"relationship,which can be further applied in designing other intermetallic(electro)catalysts.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.21671172,21625604,21776251,21706229and Z86101001)Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation(No.LR19B010001)
文摘To search the new effective nitrogen reduction reaction(NRR)electrocatalyst is very important for the ammonia-based industry.Herein,we reported the design of a novel NRR electrocatalyst with Ru NPs loaded on oxygen-vacancy TiO2(Ru/TiO2-Vo).Structural characterizations revealed that oxygen vacancy was loaded in the matrix of Ru/TiO2-Vo.Electrocatalytic results indicated that Ru/TiO2-Vo showed good NRR performance(2.11μg h^-1 cm^-2).Contrast tests showed that NRR property of Ru/TiO2-Vo was much better than those of Ru/TiO-12(B)(0.53μg hcm^-2)and Ru/P25(0.42μg h^-1 cm^-2).Furthermore,density functional theory calculation results indicated catalytic mechanism of NRR and rate-determining step(*N2+1/2 H2→*N+*NH)was the potential-determining step with the overpotential requirement of 0.21 V.A combination of electronic structure analysis and catalytic measurement shed light on the synergistic effect of Ru and oxygen vacancy on the NRR performance.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(21306119)the Key Research and Development Projects in Sichuan Province(2017GZ0397,2017CC0017)+1 种基金the Science and Technology Project of Chengdu(2015-HM01-00531-SF)the Outstanding Young Scientist Foundation of Sichuan University(2013SCU04A23)
文摘The main difficulty in the extensive commercial use of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells （PEMFCs） is the use of noble metals such as Pt-based electrocatalyst at the cathode, which is essential to ease the oxygen reduction reaction （ORR） in fuel cells （FCs）. To eliminate the high loading of Pt-based electrocatalysts to minimize the cost, extensive study has been carried out over the previous decades on the non-noble metal catalysts. Development in enhancing the ORR performance of FCs is mainly due to the doped carbon materials, Fe and Co-based electrocatalysts, these materials could be considered as probable substitutes for Pt-based catalysts. But the stability of these non-noble metal electrocatalysts is low and the durability of these metals remains unclear. The three basic reasons of instability are： （i） oxidative occurrence by H2O2, （ii） leakage of the metal site and （iii） protonation by probable anion adsorption of the active site. Whereas leakage of the metal site has been almost solved, more work is required to understand and avoid losses from oxidative attack and protonation. The ORR performance such as stability tests are usually run at low current densities and the lifetime is much shorter than desired need. Therefore, improvement in the ORR activity and stability afe the key issues of the non-noble metal electrocatalyst. Based on the consequences obtained in this area, numerous future research directions are projected and discussed in this paper. Hence, this review is focused on improvement of stability and durability of the non-noble metal electrocatalyst.
基金the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.21373091)the Science and Technology Project of Guangzhou City(No.201704030040).
文摘Nowadays,hierarchically macro-/meso-/microporous 3D carbon materials have been paid more attention due to their imaginative application potential in specific electrochemistry.Here,we report a dualtemplate strategy using eutectic NaCl/ZnCl2 melt as airtight and swelling agent to obtain 3D mesoporous skeleton structured carbon from renewable lignin.The prepared lignin-derived biocarbon material(LN-3-1)has a high specific surface area(1289 m^2 g^-1),a large pore volume(2.80 cm^3 g^-1),and a well-connected and stable structure.LN-3-1 exhibits extremely high activity and stability in acidic medium for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR),superior to Pt/C catalyst and most non noble-metal catalysts reported in recent literatures.The prepared carbon material was used as a cathode catalyst to assemble a H2-O2 single fuel cell,and its excellent catalytic performance has been confirmed with the maximum power density of 779 mW cm^-2,which is one of the highest power densities among non-metallic catalysts so far.Density functional theory(DFT)calculations indicate that the synergy of chlorine and nitrogen reconciles the intermediate adsorption energies,leading to an appropriate theoretical ORR onset potential.We develop a cost-effective and highly efficient method to prepare biocarbon catalyst for ORR in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells.
基金the financial support from the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2016YFB0700204)NSFC(51502327,51602332)+1 种基金Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality(15520720400,15YF1413800,14DZ2261203 and 16DZ2260603)Key Project for Young Researcher of State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure and One Hundred Talent Plan of Chinese Academy of Sciences
文摘A series of triple hierarchical micro-mesomacroporous N-doped carbon shells with hollow cores have been successfully prepared via etching N-doped hollow carbon spheres with CO_2 at high temperatures.The surface areas, total pore volumes and microporepercentages of the CO_2-activated samples evidently increase with increasing activation temperature from 800 to950 °C, while the N contents show a contrary trend from7.6 to 3.8 at%. The pyridinic and graphitic nitrogen groups are dominant among various N-containing groups in the samples. The 950 °C-activated sample(CANHCS-950) has the largest surface area(2072 m^2 g^(-1)), pore volume(1.96 cm^3 g^(-1)), hierarchical micro-mesopore distributions(1.2, 2.6 and 6.2 nm), hollow macropore cores(*91 nm)and highest relative content of pyridinic and graphitic N groups. This triple micro-meso-macropore system could synergistically enhance the activity because macropores could store up the reactant, mesopores could reduce the transport resistance of the reactants to the active sites, and micropores could be in favor of the accumulation of ions.Therefore, the CANHCS-950 with optimized structure shows the optimal and comparable oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) activity but superior methanol tolerance and long-term durability to commercial Pt/C with a 4 e--dominant transfer pathway in alkaline media. These excellent properties in combination with good stability and recyclability make CANHCSs among the most promising metal-free ORR electrocatalysts reported so far in practical applications.
基金financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21476089, 21373091)the Provincial Science and Technology Project of Guangdong (No. 2014A030312007)
文摘Renewable lignin used for synthesizing materials has been proven to be highly potential in specific electrochemistry.Here,we report a simple method to synthesize nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon nanosheets by using bagasse lignin,denoted as lignin-derived carbon(LC).By adjusting the ratio of nitrogen source and annealing temperature,we obtained the ultrathin graphitic lignin carbon(LC-4-1000)with abundant wrinkles with high surface area of 1208 m2g_1 and large pore volume of 1.40 cm3g_1.In alkaline medium,LC-4-1000 has more positive half-wave potential and nearly current density compared to commercial Pt/C for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR).More importantly,LC-4-1000 also exhibits comparable activity and superior stability for ORR in acid medium due to its high graphitic N ratio and a direct four electron pathway for ORR.This study develops a cost-effective and highly efficient method to prepare biocarbon catalyst for ORR in fuel cells.
