1 research outputs found
Hydrothermal Synthesis of Highly Dispersed Co<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> Nanoparticles on Biomass-Derived Nitrogen-Doped Hierarchically Porous Carbon Networks as an Efficient Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Reduction and Evolution Reactions
Developing high-performance
bifunctional electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR)
and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is of vital importance in energy
storage and conversion systems. Herein, we demonstrate a facile hydrothermal
synthesis of highly dispersed Co<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> nanoparticles
(NPs) anchored on cattle-bone-derived nitrogen-doped hierarchically
porous carbon (NHPC) networks as an efficient ORR/OER bifunctional
electrocatalyst. The as-prepared Co<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>/NHPC
exhibits a remarkable catalytic activity toward both ORR (outperforming
the commercial Pt/C) and OER (comparable with the commercial RuO<sub>2</sub> catalyst) in alkaline electrolyte. The superior bifunctional
catalytic activity can be ascribed to the large specific surface area
(1070 m<sup>2</sup> g<sup>–1</sup>), the well-defined hierarchically
porous structure, and the high content of nitrogen doping (4.93 wt
%), which synergistically contribute to the homogeneous dispersion
of Co<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> NPs and the enhanced mass transport
capability. Moreover, the primary Zn–air battery using the
Co<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>/NHPC cathode demonstrates a superior performance
with an open-circuit potential of 1.39 V, a specific capacity of 795
mA h g<sub>Zn</sub><sup>–1</sup> (at 2 mA cm<sup>–2</sup>), and a peak power density of 80 mW cm<sup>–2</sup>. This
work delivers a new insight into the design and synthesis of high-performance
bifunctional nonprecious metal electrocatalysts for Zn–air
battery and other electrochemical devices