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Biomass wood-derived efficient Fe–N–C catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction

  • Energy materials
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Abstract

Efficient and low-cost electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) were the key for scalable application of metal–air batteries and fuel cells. Herein, iron-based nitrogen-doped carbon catalysts (Fe–N–Cwood) were prepared, using hydrothermal-pyrolysis-treated wood-derived nitrogen-doped carbon as the support. This support possessed large specific surface area and macro–meso–micro hierarchical porous networks, ensuring fluent mass transfer of electrolyte and oxygen species. In the ORR electrochemical test, Fe–N–Cwood catalyst showed an excellent activity, with a half-wave potential of 0.90 V in 0.1 M KOH, and a half-wave potential of 0.70 V in 0.1 M HClO4. Moreover, durability tests illustrated that Fe–N–Cwood possessed high stability and methanol tolerance. The Fe–N–Cwood-based Zn–air battery delivered a peak power density of 231 mW cm−2, suggesting its potential applications in sustainable energy conversion systems.

Graphical abstract

A highly efficient ORR electrocatalyst was obtained by embedding iron nanoparticles with hydrothermal-pyrolysis-treated wood-derived carbon.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51873134), Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province (2018JQ5058), Industrial Innovation China of Key Research, Development Project of Shaanxi Province (2019ZDLGY16-09) and the Scientific Research Project of Education Department of Shaanxi Province (20JK0945).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Photoelectric Technology and Functional Materials, International Collaborative Center On Photoelectric Technology and Nano Functional Materials, Institute of Photonics & Photon-Technology, Northwest University, Xi’an, 710069, PR China

    Dingding Li, Zheng Han, Kunyue Leng, Shenghua Ma & Yi Wang

  2. UMR8579, Laboratoire de Mécanique Des Sols, Structures et Matériaux, Université Paris-Saclay, CentraleSupélec, CNRS, 91190, Gif-sur-Yvette, France

    Jinbo Bai

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  1. Dingding Li
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  2. Zheng Han
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  3. Kunyue Leng
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  4. Shenghua Ma
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  5. Yi Wang
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Correspondence to Yi Wang or Jinbo Bai.

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Li, D., Han, Z., Leng, K. et al. Biomass wood-derived efficient Fe–N–C catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction. J Mater Sci 56, 12764–12774 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-021-06122-7

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