Science· 2016Q1
Active sites of nitrogen-doped carbon materials for oxygen reduction reaction clarified using model catalysts
- 4,200citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2016year
Short summary
Researchers have identified that pyridinic nitrogen atoms in nitrogen-doped carbon materials create Lewis basic sites, which are the specific active sites responsible for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR).
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Pyridinic nitrogen in N-doped carbon materials creates Lewis basic sites.
- These Lewis basic carbon sites are the active centers for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR).
- Model graphite catalysts with controlled nitrogen doping were used to identify the active sites.
- The specific activity per pyridinic N in model catalysts is comparable to N-doped graphene powder catalysts.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Nitrogen (N)-doped carbon materials exhibit high electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), which is essential for several renewable energy systems. However, the ORR active site (or sites) is unclear, which retards further developments of high-performance catalysts. Here, we characterized the ORR active site by using newly designed graphite (highly oriented pyrolitic graphite) model catalysts with well-defined π conjugation and well-controlled doping of N species. The ORR active site is created by pyridinic N. Carbon dioxide adsorption experiments indicated that pyridinic N also creates Lewis basic sites. The specific activities per pyridinic N in the HOPG model catalysts are comparable with those of N-doped graphene powder catalysts. Thus, the ORR active sites in N-doped carbon materials are carbon atoms with Lewis basicity next to pyridinic N.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Science, 2016 · DOI ↗
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Field: Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the EnvironmentEnergy