Oxygen reduction on graphene-supported MN4 macrocycles in alkaline media

Pyrolysis-Free Synthesized Catalyst towards Acidic Oxygen Reduction by Deprotonation

Acidic oxygen reduction is vital for renewable energy devices such as fuel cells. However, many aspects of the catalytic process are still uncertain-especially the large difference in activity in acidic and alkaline media. Thus, the design and synthesis of model catalysts to determine the active centers and the inactivation mechanism are urgently needed. We report a pyrolysis-free synthesis route to fabricate a catalyst (CPF-Fe@NG) for oxygen reduction in acidic conditions. By introducing a deprotonation process, we extended the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity from alkaline to acidic conditions. CPF-Fe@NG demonstrated outstanding performance with a half-wave potential of 853 mV (vs. RHE) and good stability after 10000 cycles in 1 M HClO₄ . The pyrolysis-free route could also be used to assemble fuel cells, with a maximum power density of 126 mW cm^-2 . Our findings offer new insights into the ORR process to optimize catalysts for both mechanistic studies and practical applications.

Transition Metal and Nitrogen Co-Doped Carbon-based Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction: From Active Site Insights to the Rational Design of Precursors and Structures

Considering the urgent requirement for clean and sustainable energy, fuel cells and metal-air batteries have emerged as promising energy storage and conversion devices to alleviate the worldwide energy challenges. The key step in accelerating the sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics at the cathode is to develop cost-effective and high-efficiency non-precious metal catalysts, which can be used to replace expensive Pt-based catalysts. Recently, the transition metal and nitrogen co-doped carbon (M-N_x /C) materials with tailored morphology, tunable composition, and confined structure show great potential in both acidic and alkaline media. Herein, the mechanism of ORR is provided, followed by recent efforts to clarify the actual structures of active sites. Furthermore, the progress of optimizing the catalytic performance of M-N_x /C catalysts by modulating nitrogen-rich precursors and porous structure engineering is highlighted. The remaining challenges and development prospects of M-N_x /C catalysts are also outlined and evaluated.

Two-Dimensional Conductive Ni-HAB as a Catalyst for the Electrochemical Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Catalytic systems whose properties can be systematically tuned via changes in synthesis conditions are highly desirable for the next-generation catalyst design and optimization. Herein, we present a two-dimensional (2D) conductive metal-organic framework consisting of M-N₄ units (M = Ni, Cu) and a hexaaminobenzene (HAB) linker as a catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction. By varying synthetic conditions, we prepared two Ni-HAB catalysts with different crystallinities, resulting in catalytic systems with different electric conductivities, electrochemical activity, and stability. We show that crystallinity has a positive impact on conductivity and demonstrate that this improved crystallinity/conductivity improves the catalytic performance of our model system. Additionally, density functional theory simulations were performed to probe the origin of M-HAB's catalytic activity, and they suggest that M-HAB's organic linker acts as the active site with the role of the metal being to modulate the linker sites' binding strength.

Recent Progress in Electrically Rechargeable Zinc-Air Batteries

Over the past decade, the surging interest for higher-energy-density, cheaper, and safer battery technology has spurred tremendous research efforts in the development of improved rechargeable zinc-air batteries. Current zinc-air batteries suffer from poor energy efficiency and cycle life, owing mainly to the poor rechargeability of zinc and air electrodes. To achieve high utilization and cyclability in the zinc anode, construction of conductive porous framework through elegant optimization strategies and adaptation of alternate active material are employed. Equally, there is a need to design new and improved bifunctional oxygen catalysts with high activity and stability to increase battery energy efficiency and lifetime. Efforts to engineer catalyst materials to increase the reactivity and/or number of bifunctional active sites are effective for improving air electrode performance. Here, recent key advances in material development for rechargeable zinc-air batteries are described. By improving fundamental understanding of materials properties relevant to the rechargeable zinc and air electrodes, zinc-air batteries will be able to make a significant impact on the future energy storage for electric vehicle application. To conclude, a brief discussion on noteworthy concepts of advanced electrode and electrolyte systems that are beyond the current state-of-the-art zinc-air battery chemistry, is presented.

Multi-walled carbon nanotube and carbide-derived carbon supported metal phthalocyanines as cathode catalysts for microbial fuel cell applications

Metal phthalocyanine (CoPc and FePc) modified MWCNT or CDC materials were explored as superior cathode catalysts for MFC technology.

Graphene oxide and nanodiamond: same carboxylic groups, different complexation properties

DFT calculations explain why carboxylic groups on graphene oxide and nanodiamond have different complexation properties toward Ni(ii) tetraazamacrocyclic cations.

Superior Catalytic Activity of Electrochemically Reduced Graphene Oxide Supported Iron Phthalocyanines toward Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Structure and surface properties of supporting materials are of great importance for the catalytic performance of the catalysts. Herein, we prepared the iron phthalocyanine (FePc) functionalized electrochemically reduced graphene oxide (ERGO) by the electrochemical reduction of FePc/GO. The resultant FePc/ERGO exhibits higher catalytic activity toward ORR than that of FePc/graphene. More importantly, the onset potential for ORR at FePc/ERGO positively shifts by 45 mV compared with commercial Pt/C in alkaline media. Besides, FePc/ERGO displays enhanced durability and selectivity toward ORR. The superior catalytic performance of FePc/ERGO for ORR are ascribed to the self-supported structure of ERGO, uniformly morphology and size of FePc nanoparticles.

Graphene-based transition metal oxide nanocomposites for the oxygen reduction reaction

The development of low cost, durable and efficient nanocatalysts to substitute expensive and rare noble metals (e.g. Pt, Au and Pd) in overcoming the sluggish kinetic process of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is essential to satisfy the demand for sustainable energy conversion and storage in the future. Graphene based transition metal oxide nanocomposites have extensively been proven to be a type of promising highly efficient and economic nanocatalyst for optimizing the ORR to solve the world-wide energy crisis. Synthesized nanocomposites exhibit synergetic advantages and avoid the respective disadvantages. In this feature article, we concentrate on the recent leading works of different categories of introduced transition metal oxides on graphene: from the commonly-used classes (FeOx, MnOx, and CoOx) to some rare and heat-studied issues (TiOx, NiCoOx and Co-MnOx). Moreover, the morphologies of the supported oxides on graphene with various dimensional nanostructures, such as one dimensional nanocrystals, two dimensional nanosheets/nanoplates and some special multidimensional frameworks are further reviewed. The strategies used to synthesize and characterize these well-designed nanocomposites and their superior properties for the ORR compared to the traditional catalysts are carefully summarized. This work aims to highlight the meaning of the multiphase establishment of graphene-based transition metal oxide nanocomposites and its structural-dependent ORR performance and mechanisms.

Porphyrin-based graphene oxide frameworks with ultra-large d-spacings for the electrocatalyzation of oxygen reduction reaction

Graphene oxide frameworks with ultralarge d-spacings of up to 26 Å were synthesized by using porphyrins as molecular pillars of graphene sheets, showing potential applications as electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction.

Electrocatalytic activity of metalloporphyrins grown in situ on graphene sheets toward oxygen reduction reaction in an alkaline medium

A series of novel non-noble-metal catalysts for ORR, based on metalloporphyrins grown on poly(sodium-p-styrenesulfonate) modified reduced graphene oxide sheets, have been successfully fabricated using an in situ solvothermal synthesis method.