title: Supramolecular gel-assisted synthesis of double shelled Co@CoO@N-C/C nanoparticles with synergistic electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction.
abstract: Investigating active, stable, and low-cost materials for the oxygen reduction reaction is one of the key challenges in fuel-cell research. In this work, we describe the formation of N-doped carbon shell coated Co@CoO nanoparticles supported on Vulcan XC-72 carbon materials (Co@CoO@N-C/C) based on a simple supramolecular gel-assisted method. The double-shelled Co@CoO@N-C/C core-shell nanoparticles exhibit superior electrocatalytic activities for the oxygen reduction reaction compared to N-doped carbon and cobalt oxides, demonstrating the synergistic effect of the hybrid nanomaterials. Notably, the Co@CoO@N-C/C nanoparticles give rise to a comparable four-electron selectivity, long-term stability, and high methanol tolerance; all show a multi-fold improvement over the commercial Pt/C catalyst. The progress is of great importance in exploring advanced non-precious metal-based electrocatalysts for fuel cell applications.
authors: Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry for Energy Conversion and Storage (Huazhong University of Science and Technology), Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry and Service Failure, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China. wangdl81125@hust.edu.cn.
authors: Zexing
authors: Z
authors: Wu
authors: Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry for Energy Conversion and Storage (Huazhong University of Science and Technology), Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry and Service Failure, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China. wangdl81125@hust.edu.cn.
authors: Jie
authors: J
authors: Wang
authors: Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, USA and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, P.R. China.
authors: Lili
authors: L
authors: Han
authors: Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, USA and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.
authors: Ruoqian
authors: R
authors: Lin
authors: Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry for Energy Conversion and Storage (Huazhong University of Science and Technology), Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry and Service Failure, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China. wangdl81125@hust.edu.cn.
authors: Hongfang
authors: H
authors: Liu
authors: Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, USA and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.
authors: Huolin L
authors: HL
authors: Xin
authors: Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry for Energy Conversion and Storage (Huazhong University of Science and Technology), Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry and Service Failure, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China. wangdl81125@hust.edu.cn.
authors: Deli
authors: D
authors: Wang