Synergistic effect of S,N-co-doped mesoporous carbon materials with high performance for oxygen-reduction reaction and Li-ion batteries

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability Materials for energy and sustainability, 2015-01, Vol.3 (40), p.20244-20253
• Main Authors: Zhuang, Gui-lin, Bai, Jia-qi, Tao, Xin-yong, Luo, Jian-min, Wang, Xin-de, Gao, Yi-fen, Zhong, Xing, Li, Xiao-nian, Wang, Jian-guo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Carbon; Carbonization; Catalysis; Catalysts; Graphene; Lithium-ion batteries; Rechargeable batteries; Synergistic effect
• ISSN: 2050-7488; 2050-7496
• DOI: 10.1039/c5ta05252a

S,N-co-doped porous carbon (SNPC) materials are good candidates for the cathodic oxygen-reduction reaction (ORR) and lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, SNPC gives low yield and is expensive. Herein, we report a new and efficient method for synthesizing a S,N-co-doped mesoporous carbon material through the carbonization of S,N-containing precursors in molten ZnCl sub(2), where ZnCl sub(2) served as the ionic solvent and Lewis acid catalyst. The resultant SNPC-800 showed a mesoporous structure with a specific surface area of 1235 m super(2) g super(-1) and a mesopore-size range of 10-45 nm, which were considerably larger than those obtained through the carbonization of ionic liquids and fabrication of graphene oxides. Furthermore, ORR measurements indicated good catalytic activity, comparable to the commercial Pt/C catalyst. Also the SNPC-800 material exhibited excellent catalytic stability, and high methanol tolerance compared to the commercial Pt/C catalyst. Density functional theory calculation results revealed that the catalytic properties originated from the synergistic effect of the S/N dopant and that the main catalytic reaction path followed an associative mechanism. LIB tests further showed high reversible capacity, as well as excellent cycling stability and rate performance.