The decomposition of ZIF-8 and transformation into 3D N-doped carbon at about 600 °C. The weight loss over 900 °C mainly resulted from the evaporation of Zn (b.p.907 °C). The bottom-top gas flow produced by iron acetate decomposition can promote the expansion of micropores in ZIF-8 framework, resulting in a hollow hierarchical and pore structure.
N-doped carbon electrocatalyst: marked ORR activity in acidic media without the contribution by metal sites?
Fantao Kong, Xiangzhi Cui, Yifan Huang, Heliang Yao, Yafeng Chen, Han Tian, Ge Meng, Chang Chen, Ziwei Chang, Jianlin Shi
Abstract
Fe-N-C electrocatalysts have been demonstrated to be the most promising substitutes for benchmark Pt/C for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Herein, we report that, a N-doped carbon materials with trace amount of iron (0-0.08 wt.%) show excellent ORR activity and durability comparable and even superior to those of Pt/C in both alkaline and acidic media without the significant contribution by the metal sites. Such a N-doped carbon (denoted as N-HPCs) features a hollow and hierarchically porous architecture, and more importantly, a non-covalent-bonded N-deficient/N-rich heterostructure providing the active sites for oxygen adsorption and activation owing to the efficient electron transfer between the layers. The primary Zn-air battery using N-HPCs as the cathode delivers a much higher power density of 158 mW cm-2, and the maximum power density in H2-O2 fuel cell reaches 486 mW cm-2, which is comparable to and even better than those using conventional Fe-N-C catalysts at cathodes.