Layered Transition Metal Oxynitride Co3Mo2OxN6-x/C Catalyst for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Li An; Zhonghong Xia; Peikai Chen; Dingguo Xia

doi:10.1021/acsami.6b10793

Layered Transition Metal Oxynitride Co₃Mo₂O_xN_6-x/C Catalyst for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2016 Nov 2;8(43):29536-29542. doi: 10.1021/acsami.6b10793. Epub 2016 Oct 21.

Authors

Li An¹, Zhonghong Xia¹, Peikai Chen¹, Dingguo Xia¹

Affiliation

¹ Beijing Key Lab for Theory and Technology of Advanced Batteries Materials, College of Engineering, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China.

PMID: 27731631
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b10793

Abstract

Transition metal oxynitrides have now garnered growing interest in our quest for highly efficient alternatives to Pt in direct methanol alkaline fuel cells. Herein, carbon supported Co₃Mo₂O_xN_6-x was synthesized via a simple two-step approach wherein the reactants undergo refluxing and heat treatment in NH₃. For the as-prepared Co₃Mo₂O_xN_6-x catalyst, uniformly dispersed on XC-72, with the particle size averaged at 5 nm, the catalytic activities toward oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline media are related to the commercial Pt/C, such as the comparable onset potential (0.9 V vs RHE), half-wave potential (0.8 V vs RHE), and even higher specific activity (82.7 mA cm^-2 at 0.7 V). Significantly, the Co₃Mo₂O_xN_6-x catalyst was highly stable in terms of 95% current retention after 12 h chronoamperometry measurement, indicative of favorable prospect for the non-noble cathodic catalyst in alkaline fuel cell.

Keywords: Co3Mo2OxN6−x /C; alkaline fuel cell; catalyst; layered transition metal oxynitride; oxygen reduction reaction.