Metal-free nitrogen-doped carbon foam electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction in acid solution

Liu, J. and Yu, S. and Daio, T. and Ismail, M. S. and Sasaki, K. and Lyth, S. M. (2016) Metal-free nitrogen-doped carbon foam electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction in acid solution. Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 163 (9). F1049-F1054. ISSN 0013-4651 (https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0631609jes)

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Abstract

Metal-free, nitrogen-doped carbon foam is utilized as a model non-precious electrocatalyst system to investigate the role of nitrogen in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in the absence of iron contamination. This graphene-like foam displays relatively high activity for the ORR in acid, despite being proven free from transition-metal impurities. The onset potential is 0.85 VRHE, the mass activity is 2.8 A/g at 0.6 VRHE, and the current density is -4.0 mA/cm2. The maximum electron transfer number is calculated to be 3.6, revealing that a 4-electron pathway is possible in nitrogen-doped carbon, even in the absence of transition-metal coordination sites. The excellent electrochemical activity is attributed to the large surface area (700 m2/g), improved conductivity after graphitization, and the relatively high proportion of tertiary (graphite-like) nitrogen.

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