Understanding the Oxygen Reduction Reaction Activity of Quasi-1D and 2D N-Doped Heat-Treated Graphene Oxide Catalysts with Inherent Metal Impurities

Nosan M, Löffler M, Jerman I, Kolar M, Katsounaros I, Genorio B (2021)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2021

Journal

ACS Applied Energy Materials American Chemical Society

DOI: 10.1021/acsaem.1c00026

Abstract

Carbon-based nanomaterials (fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, graphene derivatives, etc.) are promising cost-effective catalyst alternatives to noble metal catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Herein, we report on the synthesis and characterization of graphene-based derivatives with various aspect ratios. All the synthesized materials were critically probed for activity and stability for ORR in acidic and alkaline electrolytes. Namely, a comparison study on the influence of aspect ratio and N-doping on ORR electroactivity in acidic and alkaline electrolytes of quasi-1D N-doped heat-treated graphene oxide nanoribbons (N-htGONr) with 2D N-doped heat-treated graphene oxides (N-htGO) was done. Moreover, we also investigated the influence of metallic impurities on the ORR activity in acidic and alkaline media. We have shown that a higher aspect ratio plays an important role in improving ORR activity. Furthermore, when comparing N-doped derivatives with non-doped derivatives, the ORR activity in 0.1 M HClO4 is increased by N-doping; however, in 0.1 M KOH, the N-doping effect is overshadowed by inherent transition metal impurities, i.e., iron. In this respect, we have established a linear correlation between onset potential for ORR, iron concentration, and BET specific surface area of graphene-based derivatives. The present study will aid in the critical assessment and development of non-metallic catalysts for the electrochemical energy conversion devices.

Authors with CRIS profile

Mario Löffler Lehrstuhl für Elektrokatalyse (HIERN) Ioannis Katsounaros Lehrstuhl für Elektrokatalyse (HIERN)

Involved external institutions

National Institute of Chemistry / Kemijski Inštitut SI Slovenia (SI) University of Ljubljana (UL) / Univerza v Ljubljani SI Slovenia (SI)

How to cite

APA:

Nosan, M., Löffler, M., Jerman, I., Kolar, M., Katsounaros, I., & Genorio, B. (2021). Understanding the Oxygen Reduction Reaction Activity of Quasi-1D and 2D N-Doped Heat-Treated Graphene Oxide Catalysts with Inherent Metal Impurities. ACS Applied Energy Materials. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.1c00026

MLA:

Nosan, Miha, et al. "Understanding the Oxygen Reduction Reaction Activity of Quasi-1D and 2D N-Doped Heat-Treated Graphene Oxide Catalysts with Inherent Metal Impurities." ACS Applied Energy Materials (2021).

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