title: Cu,N-codoped Hierarchical Porous Carbons as Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction.
abstract: It remains a huge challenge to develop nonprecious electrocatalysts with high activity to substitute commercial Pt catalysts for oxygen reduction reactions (ORR). Here, the Cu,N-codoped hierarchical porous carbon (Cu-N-C) with a high content of pyridinic N was synthesized by carbonizing Cu-containing ZIF-8. Results indicate that Cu-N-C shows excellent ORR electrocatalyst properties. First of all, it nearly follows the four-electron route, and its electron transfer number reaches 3.92 at -0.4 V. Second, both the onset potential and limited current density of Cu-N-C are almost equal to those of a commercial Pt/C catalyst. Third, it exhibits a better half-wave potential (∼16 mV) than a commercial Pt/C catalyst. More importantly, the Cu-N-C displays better stability and methanol tolerance than the Pt/C catalyst. All of these good properties are attributed to hierarchical structure, high pyridinic N content, and the synergism of Cu and N dopants. The metal-N codoping strategy can significantly enhance the activity of electrocatalysts, and it will provide reference for the design of novel N-doped porous carbon ORR catalysts.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing University of Chemical Technology , Beijing 100029, People's Republic of China.|International Research Center for Soft Matter, Beijing University of Chemical Technology , Beijing 100029, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Haiyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: International Research Center for Soft Matter, Beijing University of Chemical Technology , Beijing 100029, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing University of Chemical Technology , Beijing 100029, People's Republic of China.|International Research Center for Soft Matter, Beijing University of Chemical Technology , Beijing 100029, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Daojian
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing University of Chemical Technology , Beijing 100029, People's Republic of China.|International Research Center for Soft Matter, Beijing University of Chemical Technology , Beijing 100029, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Dapeng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cao
keywords: Cu; N-codoped porous carbon; ORR; hierarchical pores; pyridinic N