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Coprinus comatus-derived nitrogen-containing biocarbon electrocatalyst with the addition of self-generating graphene-like support for superior oxygen reduction reaction

The development of nitrogen-rich biomass- derived carbon catalysts provides an attractive perspective to substitute for Pt-based electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). We here report a facile strategy for synthesis of a nitrogen-doped biocarbon/graphene-like composite electrocatalyst...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science bulletin (Beijing) 2016-06, Vol.61 (12), p.948-958
Main Authors: Guo, Chaozhong, Liao, Wenli, Li, Zhongbin, Sun, Lingtao, Ruan, Haibo, Wu, Qingshan, Luo, Qinghong, Huang, Jie, Chen, Changguo
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:The development of nitrogen-rich biomass- derived carbon catalysts provides an attractive perspective to substitute for Pt-based electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). We here report a facile strategy for synthesis of a nitrogen-doped biocarbon/graphene-like composite electrocatalyst by pyrolyzing a solid-state mixture of coprinus comatus biomass and melamine under nitrogen protection. The graphtic carbon nitride formed by polycondensation of melamine at 600 ℃ acts as a self-sacrificing template to generate the nitrogen-doped graphene-like sheet, which can function as an inserting agent and self-generating support. The composite catalyst exhibits the most promising catalytic activity towards the four-electron ORR with a half-wave potential of around 0.83 V (vs. RHE), and more excellent stability and tolerance to methanol/ethanol compared to the commercial Pt/C catalyst. It is interestingly found that both a higher content of nitrogen and a larger ratio of graphitic-nitrogen species, which may derive from self-addition of graphene-like support into the catalyst, can effectively improve theelectrocatalytic activity. The planar N group may be the nitrogen functionality that is most responsible for main-taining the ORR activity in alkaline medium. This study can largely encourage the exploration of high-performance carbon-based catalysts from economical and sustainable fungus biomass.
ISSN:2095-9273
2095-9281
DOI:10.1007/s11434-016-1088-9