面对全球化的能源危机,燃料电池由于其高效性和可重复使用性成为越来越具有潜力的能量转化设备.阴极发生的氧气还原反应对于燃料电池的性能十分重要,寻找高效的氧还原催化剂在很大程度上可以提高燃料电池的性能.传统的氧还原催化剂是贵金属铂,但是铂的价格十分高,较差的稳定性和选择性限制了它的商业化应用,因此找到一种廉价高效的非贵金属氧还原催化剂来代替铂基催化剂成为目前的研究热点.我们最近发现将纯的三羟甲基氨基甲烷置于管式炉中在800℃下真空烧制2 h,可以简单快捷地得到一种含 N量为4.11%的纳米碳块(标记为 NCNBs-800),该材料可用于催化电化学氧气还原反应.同样情况下在700和900℃下合成的材料标记为 NCNBs-700和 NCNBs-900.采用傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)和电化学旋转圆盘方法与技术对催化剂的成分、形貌和电催化性能进行了表征. SEM表明 NCNBs-800为直径为60 nm的碳块,用 FTIR手段表征了 NCNBs-800的结构变化,三羟甲基氨基甲烷中的–OH和–NH2在高温下发生消去反应,形成了饱和度不同的 C–N键和 C–C键.这些饱和度不同的 N原子和 C原子增加了材料的缺陷结构和活性位点,进一步促进了氧还原反应的催化性能.采用 XPS分析了 NCNBs-800表面的元素,通过对 N 1s进行分峰拟合,发现 NCNBs-800含有能促进氧还原性能的吡啶-N和吡咯-N,特别是吡啶-N,它吸电子的能力很强,从而导致与它邻近的 C原子表面具有一定的正电荷,这些正电荷促进了氧气的吸附和还原,为氧气还原反应提供活性位点,促进氧气还原反应的发生. XRD结果表明,三羟甲基氨基甲烷热解前后的 XRD谱图有明显变化,热解后的三羟甲基氨基甲烷呈现两个宽峰,代表着杂化碳的存在. NCNBs-800的衍射峰强度比 NCNBs-700以及 N
The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is traditionally performed using noble‐metals catalysts, e.g. Pt. However, these metal‐based catalysts have the drawbacks of high costs, low selectivity, poor stabili‐ties, and detrimental environmental effects. Here, we describe metal‐free nitrogen‐doped carbon nanoblocks (NCNBs) with high nitrogen contents (4.11%), which have good electrocatalytic proper‐ties for ORRs. This material was fabricated using a scalable, one‐step process involving the pyrolysis of tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (Tris) at 800℃. Rotating ring disk electrode measurements show that the NCNBs give a high electrocatalytic performance and have good stability in ORRs. The onset potential of the catalyst for the ORR is-0.05 V (vs Ag/AgCl), the ORR reduction peak potential is-0.20 V (vs Ag/AgCl), and the electron transfer number is 3.4. The NCNBs showed pronounced electrocatalytic activity, improved long‐term stability, and better tolerance of the methanol crosso‐ver effect compared with a commercial 20 wt%Pt/C catalyst. The composition and structure of, and nitrogen species in, the NCNBs were investigated using Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X‐ray diffraction. The pyroly‐sis of Tris at high temperature increases the number of active nitrogen sites, especially pyridinic nitrogen, which creates a net positive charge on adjacent carbon atoms, and the high positive charge promotes oxygen adsorption and reduction. The results show that NCNBs prepared by pyrolysis of Tris as nitrogen and carbon sources are a promising ORR catalyst for fuel cells.