Journal
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
Volume 22, Issue 21, Pages 4584-4591Publisher
WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH
DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201201244
Keywords
manganese oxide; mesoporous nitrogen-doped carbon; polyaniline; oxygen reduction reactions; synergetic effects
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Funding
- MOST of China [2011CB932403]
- NSF of China [21131005, 20925103, 21021061, 21175042]
- Fok Ying Tung Education Foundation [121011]
- NSF of Fujian [2009J06005]
- China Postdoctoral Science Foundation [20100480716]
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Developing low-cost non-precious metal catalysts for high-performance oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is highly desirable. Here a facile, in situ template synthesis of a MnO-containing mesoporous nitrogen-doped carbon (m-N-C) nanocomposite and its high electrocatalytic activity for a four-electron ORR in alkaline solution are reported. The synthesis of the MnO-m-N-C nanocomposite involves one-pot hydrothermal synthesis of Mn3O4@polyaniline core/shell nanoparticles from a mixture containing aniline, Mn(NO3)(2), and KMnO4, followed by heat treatment to produce N-doped ultrathin graphitic carbon coated MnO hybrids and partial acid leaching of MnO. The as-prepared MnO-m-N-C composite catalyst exhibits high electrocatalytic activity and dominant four-electron oxygen reduction pathway in 0.1 M KOH aqueous solution due to the synergetic effect between MnO and m-N-C. The pristine MnO shows little electrocatalytic activity and m-N-C alone exhibits a dominant two-electron process for ORR. The MnO-m-N-C composite catalyst also exhibits superior stability and methanol tolerance to a commercial Pt/C catalyst, making the composite a promising cathode catalyst for alkaline methanol fuel cell applications. The synergetic effect between MnO and N-doped carbon described provides a new route to design advanced catalysts for energy conversion.
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