Issue 60, 2016

N-Doped carbon supported Co3O4 nanoparticles as an advanced electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction in Al–air batteries

Abstract

Low-cost and high-performance catalysts are highly desirable for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in metal–air batteries. Herein, a Co3O4/N-doped Ketjenblack (Co3O4/N-KB) composite is proposed as a high performance catalyst for Al–air batteries. The synergistic effect between Co3O4 and N-KB enables the Co3O4/N-KB composite to have a much higher cathodic current, a much more positive half-wave potential and more electron transfer in comparison with Co3O4 or N-KB alone. The Co3O4/N-KB composite favors a direct four electron pathway in the ORR process, and its ORR current density even outperforms the commercial Pt/C (20 wt%). Al–air batteries using the as-prepared catalyst in the air electrode were constructed, which displayed a high discharge voltage plateau of ∼1.52 V, comparable to that of the commercial Pt/C. The developed Co3O4/N-KB composite here could meet the requirements of large-scale application of metal–air batteries due to the much cheaper cobalt source and more economically commercialized carbon source compared to the commercial Pt/C.

Graphical abstract: N-Doped carbon supported Co3O4 nanoparticles as an advanced electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction in Al–air batteries

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
22 Apr 2016
Accepted
01 Jun 2016
First published
02 Jun 2016

RSC Adv., 2016,6, 55552-55559

N-Doped carbon supported Co3O4 nanoparticles as an advanced electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction in Al–air batteries

K. Liu, Z. Zhou, H. Wang, X. Huang, J. Xu, Y. Tang, J. Li, H. Chu and J. Chen, RSC Adv., 2016, 6, 55552 DOI: 10.1039/C6RA10486J

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