Development of convenient, economic electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline medium is of great significance to practical applications of aluminum-air batteries. Herein, a biomass chitin-derived carbon material with… Click to show full abstract
Development of convenient, economic electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline medium is of great significance to practical applications of aluminum-air batteries. Herein, a biomass chitin-derived carbon material with high ORR activities has been prepared and applied as electrocatalysts in Al-air batteries. The obtained cobalt, nitrogen co-doped carbon material (CoNC) exhibits the positive onset potential 0.86 V vs. RHE (reversible hydrogen electrode) and high-limiting current density 5.94 mA cm−2. Additionally, the durability of the CoNC material in alkaline electrolyte shows better stability when compared to the commercial Pt/C catalyst. Furthermore, the Al-air battery using CoNC as an air cathode catalyst provides the power density of 32.24 mW cm−2 and remains the constant discharge voltage of 1.17 V at 20 mA cm−2. This work not only provides a facile method to synthesize low-cost and efficient ORR electrocatalysts for Al-air batteries, but also paves a new way to explore and utilize high-valued biomass materials.
               
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