Nitrogen-doped porous activated carbon derived from cocoon silk as a highly efficient metal-free electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction

Abstract

Heteroatom-doped porous carbon has attracted considerable research interest due to its effective catalytic activity towards the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). In this study, nitrogen-doped porous activated carbon (PAC) is fabricated via a facile heat-treatment and chemical activation of cocoon silk in an inert gas atmosphere. The prepared PAC exhibits excellent ORR catalytic performances with the half-wave potential of À0.13 V and an onset potential of +0.03 V vs. Ag/AgCl, which match the Pt/C catalyst and are superior to various other reported biomass derived metal-free carbon catalysts. This catalytic proficiency is attributed to the plentiful electronegative N atoms within the carbon lattice, large surface area and high porosity. The PAC also exhibits high stability, durability and an effective tolerance effect to methanol crossover. In addition, the as-prepared PAC shows remarkable feasibility as a cathodic catalyst for microbial fuel cells (MFCs). This study provides a new approach for the synthesis of metal-free carbon nanomaterials derived from natural materials, and broadens the design for the fabrication of ORR catalysts.

Advanced Biomass‐Derived Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

“…Iwazaki et al presented silk‐derived activated carbon as a catalyst for the ORR in a PEM fuel cell . Fu et al indicated that the fiber structure of CS can be preserved via precarbonization and further activation with ZnCl 2 (at 800 °C) . Figure b 1 ,b 2 show the silk fiber before and after carbonization at 800 °C, respectively.…”

Biomass Derived Graphene‐Like Carbons for Electrocatalytic Oxygen Reduction Reaction

“…However, this carbon typically obtained from HTC presents the spherical morphology with rather low surface areas and poor electron conductivity ,,. And direct pyrolysis of biomass usually results in the formation of irregular structures and lack of sufficient porosity ,. As a result, these primary biomass‐derived carbons are relatively sluggish as electrodes.…”

“…[50,51,54] And direct pyrolysis of biomass usually results in the formation of irregular structures and lack of sufficient porosity. [39,[55][56][57] As a result, these primary biomass-derived carbons are relatively sluggish as electrodes. Therefore, upgrading the quality of biomass-derived carbons and endowing them with potentially huge exposed field, hierarchically porous structure and effective nitrogendoping property are highly expected to achieve their specific applications.…”

Kinetics, equilibrium, statistical surface modeling and cost analysis of paraquat removal from aqueous solution using carbonated jujube seed

“…1b) displays three peaks positioned at 531.5, 533.3, and 535.4 eV, which correspond to C]O, C]O, and C-OH. 27,30 (b) Thermogravimetric analysis-TGA. TGA of jujube seeds (Fig.…”