Development of inexpensive and sustainable cathode catalysts that can efficiently catalyze the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is of significance in practical application of fuel cells. Herein we report the synthesis of sulfur and nitrogen dual-doped, ordered mesoporous carbon (SN-OMCs), which shows outstanding ORR electrocatalytic properties. The material was synthesized from a surface-templat...

For the goal of practical industrial development of fuel cells, inexpensive, sustainable, and highly efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reactions (ORR) are highly desirable alternatives to platinum (Pt) and other rare metals. In this work, based on density functional theory, silicon (Si)-doped carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene as metal-free, low cost, and high-performance electr...

Ag is considered to be one of the best candidates for oxygen reduction reaction electrocatalysts in alkaline media for application in various electrochemical energy devices. In this study, we demonstrate that water activation is a key factor in enhancing the ORR activity in alkaline media, unlike in acid environments. Ag supported on LaMnO3 having a high oxophilicity showed a markedly higher OR...

Here we report on the effect of the mass transfer rate (k(t)) on the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyzed by Pt dendrimer-encapsulated nanoparticles (DENs) comprised of 147 and 55 atoms (Pt(147) and Pt(55)). The experiments were carried out using a dual-electrode microelectrochemical device, which enables the study of the ORR under high k(t) conditions with simultaneous detection of H(2)O(...

A series of non-precious metal electrocatalysts, namely pyrolyzed carbon-supported cobalt-polypyrrole, Co-PPy-TsOH/C, are synthesized with various cobalt precursors, including cobalt acetate, cobalt nitrate, cobalt oxalate, and cobalt chloride. The catalytic performance towards oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is comparatively investigated with electrochemical techniques of cyclic voltammogram, ...

Surfaces that efficiently catalyse the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are highly desirable for applications in energy utilization. Here, we computationally investigate the ORR on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) supported on Ni, Cu, and Co. We find a significant influence of the metal on the reaction energetics. In particular, h-BN/Cu is predicted to catalyse the ORR with a low overpotential, wh...

The catalytic properties of bulk-immiscible alloys are less explored than their bulk-miscible counterparts due to inherent difficulties in their synthesis and stabilization. The development of alternative synthetic methods can, however, provide routes toward bulkimmiscible nanoparticles with metastable randomly alloyed structures. In this study, we combine computational screening and a microwav...

Mesoporous chromium nitride (CrN) was prepared by a solid-solid phase separation method and was further evaluated as a support for Pt in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Pt/CrN exhibits higher electrocatalytic activity and stability than Pt/C toward the ORR, which may be attributed to the excellent electronic conductivity, and chemical and electrochemical stability of CrN. The fact that CrN...

We report a high performance oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst based on vertically aligned, nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube (VA-NCNT) arrays. Characterization in conditions analogous to the operation of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell show ORR taking place on the catalyst at a favorable reduction potential with a superior current density and greater rate constant.

A novel bi-functional cobalt carbonate hydroxide supported on a carbon (CCH/C) catalyst has been synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method to meet the demand for the widespread commercialization of the energy conversion and storage technologies, which was used for the first time in ORR and OER. Furthermore, the newly discovered phase-dependent electrocatalytic ORR/OER characteristics of CCH/...