Copper-involved highly efficient oxygen reduction reaction in both alkaline and acidic media

• Published in: Chemical engineering journal (Lausanne, Switzerland : 1996) Vol. 437; p. 135377
• Main Authors: Yang, Zehua, Jiang, Kaiyue, Tong, Gangsheng, Ke, Changchun, Wu, Haofei, Liu, Pan, Zhang, Jichao, Ji, Huiping, Zhu, Jinhui, Lu, Chenbao, Zhuang, Xiaodong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.06.2022
• Subjects: Acidic medium; Cluster; Copper; Oxygen reduction reaction; Single atom catalyst; Cluster; Single atom catalyst; Copper; Oxygen reduction reaction; Acidic medium
• ISSN: 1385-8947; 1873-3212
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2022.135377

[Display omitted] •Single-Cu-atoms and Cu clusters anchored nitrogen-doped porous carbon is developed.•As-prepared porous carbon shows ultra-high specific surface area of 3264 m2 g−1.•The catalysts exhibit the pH-universal electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction.•The catalytic activity in acidic medium outperforms all of reported Cu-based catalysts.•The enhanced activity can be attributed to the synergistic effects of single-Cu-atom and Cu cluster. Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) plays a significant role in many renewable energy storage and conversion devices. Various kinds of transition metal-based electrocatalysts were developed to promote the ORR. Among them, Cu-based catalysts were rarely studied due to their intrinsic de-active feature in bulk state, especially in acidic medium. In this work, single Cu atoms and Cu clusters-anchored nitrogen-doped porous carbons are rationally developed. As electrocatalysts for ORR, half-wave potential (E1/2) of 0.88 V and diffusion limiting current density (JL) of 5.88 mA cm−2 can be achieved in 0.1 M KOH, exceeding the most of reported non-precious catalysts and commercial Pt/C. Significantly, as-prepared catalysts exhibit the state-of-the-art performance in acidic medium among all of reported Cu-based catalysts with the E1/2 of 0.80 V and JL of 5.86 mA cm−2. Theoretical calculations indicate that the nitrogen-coordinated Cu atoms are the dominating active sites, and the neighboring Cu cluster increases the electron density of d orbitals of single-Cu-atom, which weakened the O-O interaction, thus further boost ORR performance. This work not only presents a facile strategy to fabricate efficient catalysts but also identifies the great potential of Cu based materials for ORR in both alkaline and acidic media.