Folic Acid Coordinated Cu-Co Site N-Doped Carbon Nanosheets for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

The design and development of carbon materials with high-efficiency oxygen reduction activity is still a problem. Folic acid (FA) has unique structural characteristics, and it can provide multiple coordination sites for metal ions. Here, folic acid (FA) was used as a metal complex ligand, and Cu-Co-based N-doped porous carbon nanosheets (Cu-CoNCNs) were synthesized by the solvothermal method, the molten salt template-assisted calcination method, and the chemical etching method. The Cu-CoNCNs synthesized by this method have highly efficient oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity. In 0.1 mol/L KOH electrolytes, the catalyst exhibits excellent ORR activity and has a fairly high half-wave potential (0.905 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE)). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to investigate the reasons why the catalyst has excellent catalytic activity and long-life stability. It was proved that the impressive ORR activity of Cu-CoNCNs comes from Cu doping, which can regulate the surface electronic structure of the catalyst, thereby optimizing the binding ability between the intermediate and adsorbed species and improving the catalytic activity.

Automated summary

Research on the synthesis of Cu-Co-based N-doped porous carbon nanosheets using folic acid as a metal complex ligand has shown that the catalyst exhibits efficient oxygen reduction reaction activity and long-term stability. Additionally, XPS, Raman spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, and XRD were used to investigate the reasons for the catalyst's excellent performance, attributing it to Cu doping which optimizes the binding ability between intermediates and adsorbed species, enhancing catalytic activity.