Issue 1, 2016

One-pot synthesis of monodispersed porous CoFe2O4 nanospheres on graphene as an efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction and evolution reactions

Abstract

Monodispersed porous spinel-type cobalt ferrite oxide (CoFe2O4) nanospheres (CFO-ns) directly grown on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets are fabricated by a one-pot solvothermal method. With this special structure of CFO-ns and the covalent coupling between CFO-ns and rGO in the CFO-ns/rGO hybrid, more active sites are exposed and the transport of O2 and electrolyte is faciliated when the CFO-ns/rGO hybrid is employed as an electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The CFO-ns/rGO hybrid demonstrates high catalytic activity for both the ORR and OER. It shows a more positive onset potential of −0.11 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) for the ORR, which is 50 mV higher than that of CFO-ns + rGO physical mixture (−0.16 V). Meanwhile, the onset potential of CFO-ns/rGO hybrid (0.56 V) for the OER is 40 mV lower than that of CFO-ns + rGO mixture (0.60 V). The high activity of the CFO-ns/rGO hybrid is attributed to the special structure of CFO-ns, the covalent coupling between CFO-ns and rGO as well as the suppressed agglomeration of CFO-ns and restacking of rGO in the hybrid. Moreover, the covalent coupling between CFO-ns and rGO endows the hybrid with excellent electrochemical stabilities for both the ORR and OER.

Graphical abstract: One-pot synthesis of monodispersed porous CoFe2O4 nanospheres on graphene as an efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction and evolution reactions

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
05 Nov 2015
Accepted
14 Dec 2015
First published
16 Dec 2015

RSC Adv., 2016,6, 307-313

Author version available

One-pot synthesis of monodispersed porous CoFe2O4 nanospheres on graphene as an efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction and evolution reactions

W. Yan, X. Cao, K. Ke, J. Tian, C. Jin and R. Yang, RSC Adv., 2016, 6, 307 DOI: 10.1039/C5RA23306B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements