1. CIC nanoGUNE Consolider, Tolosa Hiribidea 76, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain;2. Centro de Física de Materials CFM/MPC(CSIC-UPV/EHU), Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 5, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain;3. School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, China;4. Centro de Física de Materials CFM/MPC(CSIC-UPV/EHU), Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 5, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain;Donostia International Physics Center(DIPC), Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 4, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
Abstract:
The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is essential in research pertaining to life science and energy. In applications, platinum-based catalysts give ideal reactivity, but, in practice, are often subject to high costs and poor stability. Some cost-efficient transition metal oxides have exhibited excellent ORR reactivity, but the stability and durability of such alternative catalyst materials pose serious challenges. Here, we present a facile method to fabricate uniform CoxOy nanoparticles and embed them into N-doped carbon, which results in a composite of extraordinary stability and durability, while maintaining its high reactivity. The half-wave potential shows a negative shift of only 21 mV after 10,000 cycles, only one third of that observed for Pt/C (63 mV). Furthermore, after 100,000 s testing at a constant potential, the current decreases by only 17%, significantly less than for Pt/C (35%). The exceptional stability and durability results from the system architecture, which comprises a thin carbon shell that prevents agglomeration of the CoxOy nanoparticles and their detaching from the substrate.
