Effect of Transition Metals on the Structure and Performance of the Doped Carbon Catalysts Derived From Polyaniline and Melamine for ORR Application

• Published in: ACS catalysis 2014-10, Vol.4 (10), p.3797-3805
• Main Authors: Peng, Hongliang, Liu, Fangfang, Liu, Xiaojun, Liao, Shijun, You, Chenghang, Tian, Xinlong, Nan, Haoxiong, Luo, Fan, Song, Huiyu, Fu, Zhiyong, Huang, Peiyan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2155-5435; 2155-5435
• DOI: 10.1021/cs500744x

In this work, the effects of the addition of transition metals (Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu) on the structure and performance of the doped carbon catalysts M-PANI/C-Mela are investigated. The results show that the doping of various transition metals affected structures and performances of the catalysts significantly. Doping with Fe and Mn leads to a catalyst with a graphene-like structure, and doping with Co, Ni, and Cu leads to a disordered or nanosheet structure. The doping of transition metals can enhance the performance of the catalysts, and their ORR activity follows the order of Fe > Co > Cu > Mn > Ni, which is consistent with the order of their active N contents. We suggest that the various performance enhancements of the transition metals may be the result of the joint effect of the following three aspects: the N content/active N content, metal residue, and the surface area and pore structure, but not the effect of any single factor.