Reinforced atomically dispersed FeNC catalysts derived from petroleum asphalt for oxygen reduction reaction

Qingshan Zhao; Xiaojie Tan; Tianwen Ma; Fengliang Cao; Zhengzheng Xia; Hui Liu; Hui Ning; Zhongtao Li; Han Hu; Mingbo Wu

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2020.11.040

Reinforced atomically dispersed FeNC catalysts derived from petroleum asphalt for oxygen reduction reaction

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2021 Apr:587:810-819. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2020.11.040. Epub 2020 Nov 13.

Authors

Qingshan Zhao¹, Xiaojie Tan², Tianwen Ma², Fengliang Cao², Zhengzheng Xia², Hui Liu², Hui Ning², Zhongtao Li², Han Hu², Mingbo Wu³

Affiliations

¹ College of Chemical Engineering, College of New Energy, Institute of New Energy, State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: qszhao@upc.edu.cn.
² College of Chemical Engineering, College of New Energy, Institute of New Energy, State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, People's Republic of China.
³ College of Chemical Engineering, College of New Energy, Institute of New Energy, State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: wumb@upc.edu.cn.

PMID: 33248699
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2020.11.040

Abstract

Massive production of efficient, durable, and low-cost electrocatalysts toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is urgently desired for the development of energy storage and conversion devices. In this study, a facile and cost-effective strategy is proposed for the scalable synthesis of atomically dispersed FeNC derived from petroleum asphalt (FeNC@PA) as a reinforced catalyst for ORR. The FeNC@PA is fabricated through a layer-by-layer cladding template and subsequent pyrolysis method. Intercalating appropriate amount of petroleum asphalt not only improves the graphitic degree to reinforce the atomic Fe-N_x active sites, but also increases mass yield of the catalyst (~220%) compared with the FeNC counterpart. Serving as an ORR electrocatalyst, the optimized FeNC@PA-1:4 provides almost a four-electron transfer pathway (3.96) and exhibits superior electrocatalytic activity with a half-wave potential (E_1/2) of 0.90 V to the commercial Pt/C catalyst (E_1/2 = 0.86 V), as well as promoted durability and methanol tolerance in alkaline medium. Moreover, the zinc-air battery based on FeNC@PA-1:4 cathode delivers a high power density of 166.7 mW cm^-2. This work may help the massive production of robust atomically dispersed non-noble metal catalysts for ORR and provide a new avenue for the high value-added utilization of petroleum asphalt.

Keywords: Atomically dispersed catalyst; FeNC catalyst; Oxygen reduction reaction; Petroleum asphalt; Zinc-air battery.