Description
Abstract: A series of carbon based noble-metal-free catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) has been designed and constructed, with the purpose of developing highly efficient but low-cost catalysts for fuel cell or metal-air battery applications. Their behaviors have been evaluated from both compositional and structural point of view. These new catalysts show very good ORR performance, which is comparable with commercial Pt/C in many aspects.
The application of these advanced carbon materials has been further extended to energy storage (i.e. a lithium sulfur battery). According to our DFT calculation results, the soluble lithium polysulfides can be strongly anchored at a multiple nitrogen doping site and thus effectively suppress the undesirable shuttle effect. To achieve this, surface modification of graphene has been conducted by using graphitic carbon nitride. The abundant multiple nitrogen sites on carbon nitride has resulted in significantly improved battery performance, in both capacity and cycling stability.
Authors: Ji Liang, Lichang Yin, Hui-Ming Cheng, and Shizhang Qiao
Keywords: Porous Carbon, Nanomaterials, Oxygen Reduction, Li-S Battery