Heterojunction nanowires having high activity and stability for the reduction of oxygen: formation by self-assembly of iron phthalocyanine with single walled carbon nanotubes (FePc/SWNTs).
A self-assembly approach to preparing iron phthalocyanine/single-walled carbon nanotube (FePc/SWNT) heterojunction nanowires as a new oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalyst has been developed by virtue of water-adjusted dispersing in 1-cyclohexyl-pyrrolidone (CHP) of the two components. The FePc/SWNT nanowires have a higher Fermi level compared to pure FePc (d-band center, DFT=-0.69 eV versus -0.87 eV, respectively). Consequently, an efficient channel for transferring electron to the FePc surface is readily created, facilitating the interaction between FePc and oxygen, so enhancing the ORR kinetics. This heterojunction-determined activity in ORR illustrates a new stratagem to preparing non-noble ORR electrocatalysts of significant importance in constructing real-world fuel cells.
College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
Jia
J
Zhu
College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
Nana
N
Jia
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510640, China.
Lijun
L
Yang
Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA.
Dong
D
Su
San Jose Lab, Corporate Research Institute, Samsung Cheil Industries, Inc., San Jose, CA 95131, USA.
Jinseong
J
Park
SABIC Technology Center, Riyadh 11551, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: choiy@sabic.com.
YongMan
Y
Choi
San Jose Lab, Corporate Research Institute, Samsung Cheil Industries, Inc., San Jose, CA 95131, USA. Electronic address: kuanping.gong@gmail.com.
Kuanping
K
Gong
Carbon nanotubes; Density functional theory; Electrocatalysis; Fuel cells; Oxygen reduction reaction; Transition metal macrocycle