Functionalized Cobalt Triarylcorrole Covalently Bonded with Graphene Oxide: A Selective Catalyst for the Two- or Four-Electron Reduction of Oxygen

A cobalt triphenylcorrole (CorCo) was covalently bonded to graphene oxide (GO), and the resulting product, represented as GO-CorCo, was characterized by UV-vis, FT-IR, and micro-Raman spectroscopy as well as by HRTEM, TGA, XRD, XPS, and AFM. The electrocatalytic activity of GO-CorCo toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was then examined in air-saturated 0.1 M KOH and 0.5 M H2SO4 solutions by cyclic voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry using a rotating disk electrode and/or a rotating ring-disk electrode. An overall 4-electron reduction of 02 is obtained in alkaline media while under acidic conditions a 2-electron process is seen. The ORR results thus indicate that covalently bonded GO-CoCor can be used as a selective catalyst for either the 2- or 4-electron reduction of oxygen, the prevailing reaction depending upon the acidity of the solution.