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Nano Research 2017, 10(4): 1213-1222 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-016-1300-x
Review Article | Issue | Published: 07 November 2016

A Prussian blue route to nitrogen-doped graphene aerogels as efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction with enhanced active site accessibility

Show Author's Information Yayuan Liu1,  Haotian Wang2,  Dingchang Lin1,  Jie Zhao1,  Chong Liu1,  Jin Xie1,  Yi Cui1,3( )
Department of Materials Science and EngineeringStanford UniversityStanfordCA94305USA
Department of Applied PhysicsStanford UniversityStanfordCA94305USA
Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy SciencesSLAC National Accelerator Laboratory2575 Sand Hill RoadMenlo ParkCA94025USA
Keywords:
oxygen reduction reaction, nitrogen doping, Prussian blue nanoparticles, reduced graphene oxide aerogel
Cite this article:
Liu Y, Wang H, Lin D, et al. A Prussian blue route to nitrogen-doped graphene aerogels as efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction with enhanced active site accessibility. Nano Research, 2017, 10(4): 1213-1222. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-016-1300-x
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

Developing high-performance nonprecious-metal electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is crucial for a variety of renewable energy conversion and storage systems. Toward that end, rational catalyst design principles that lead to highly active catalytic centers and enhanced active site accessibility are undoubtedly of paramount importance. Here, we used Prussian blue nanoparticles to anchor Fe/Fe3C species to nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide aerogels as ORR catalysts. The strong interaction between nanosized Fe3C and the graphitic carbon shell led to synergistic effects in the ORR, and the protection of the carbon shell guaranteed stability of the catalyst. As a result, the aerogel electrocatalyst displayed outstanding activity in the ORR on par with the state-of-the-art Pt/C catalyst at the same mass loading in alkaline media, good performance in acidic media, and excellent stability and crossover tolerance that rivaled that of the best nonprecious-metal ORR electrocatalysts reported to date.


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About this article

A Prussian blue route to nitrogen-doped graphene aerogels as efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction with enhanced active site accessibility

Show Author's information Yayuan Liu1, Haotian Wang2, Dingchang Lin1, Jie Zhao1, Chong Liu1, Jin Xie1, Yi Cui1,3( )
Department of Materials Science and EngineeringStanford UniversityStanfordCA94305USA
Department of Applied PhysicsStanford UniversityStanfordCA94305USA
Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy SciencesSLAC National Accelerator Laboratory2575 Sand Hill RoadMenlo ParkCA94025USA

Abstract

Developing high-performance nonprecious-metal electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is crucial for a variety of renewable energy conversion and storage systems. Toward that end, rational catalyst design principles that lead to highly active catalytic centers and enhanced active site accessibility are undoubtedly of paramount importance. Here, we used Prussian blue nanoparticles to anchor Fe/Fe3C species to nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide aerogels as ORR catalysts. The strong interaction between nanosized Fe3C and the graphitic carbon shell led to synergistic effects in the ORR, and the protection of the carbon shell guaranteed stability of the catalyst. As a result, the aerogel electrocatalyst displayed outstanding activity in the ORR on par with the state-of-the-art Pt/C catalyst at the same mass loading in alkaline media, good performance in acidic media, and excellent stability and crossover tolerance that rivaled that of the best nonprecious-metal ORR electrocatalysts reported to date.

Keywords: oxygen reduction reaction, nitrogen doping, Prussian blue nanoparticles, reduced graphene oxide aerogel

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Publication history
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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 16 August 2016
Revised: 15 September 2016
Accepted: 23 September 2016
Published: 07 November 2016
Issue date: April 2017

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the support from Global Climate and Energy Projects (GCEP) at Stanford University.

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