title: Functional Species Encapsulated in Nitrogen-Doped Porous Carbon as a Highly Efficient Catalyst for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction.
abstract: The scarcity, high cost, and poor stability of precious metal-based electrocatalysts have stimulated the development of novel non-precious metal catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) for use in fuel cells and metal-air batteries. Here, we fabricated in situ a hybrid material (Co-W-C/N) with functional species (tungsten carbide and cobalt nanoparticles) encapsulated in an N-doped porous carbon framework, through a facile multi-constituent co-assembly method combined with subsequent annealing treatment. The unique structure favors the anchoring active nanoparticles and facilitates mass transfer steps. The homogenously distributed carbide nanoparticles and adjacent Co-N-C sites lead to the electrocatalytic synergism for the ORR. The existence of Co and W can promote the graphitization of the carbon matrix. Benefiting from its structural and material superiority, the Co-W-C/N electrocatalyst exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity (with a half-wave potential of 0.774 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE)), high stability (96.3 % of the initial current remaining after 9000 s of continuous operation), and good immunity against methanol in alkaline media.
authors.affiliation: College of Materials Science and Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Materials and Technology for Energy Conversion, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 210016, Nanjing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: College of Materials Science and Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Materials and Technology for Energy Conversion, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 210016, Nanjing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Materials Science and Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Materials and Technology for Energy Conversion, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 210016, Nanjing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yiou
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: College of Materials Science and Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Materials and Technology for Energy Conversion, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 210016, Nanjing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hairong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: College of Materials Science and Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Materials and Technology for Energy Conversion, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 210016, Nanjing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: College of Materials Science and Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Materials and Technology for Energy Conversion, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 210016, Nanjing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaoli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: College of Materials Science and Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Materials and Technology for Energy Conversion, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 210016, Nanjing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: College of Materials Science and Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Materials and Technology for Energy Conversion, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 210016, Nanjing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: College of Materials Science and Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Materials and Technology for Energy Conversion, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 210016, Nanjing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jianping
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7525-2809
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: He
keywords: carbides; nitrogen doping; non-noble metal catalysts; oxygen reduction reactions; tungsten