Atomically dispersed rare earth dysprosium-nitrogen-carbon for boosting oxygen reduction reaction.

Transition metal-nitrogen-carbon (MNC) based on 3d metal atoms as promising non-precious metal catalysts have been extensively exploited for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), but MNC with 4f rare earth metals have been largely ignored, most likely due to their large atomic radii that are difficult to coordinate with N dopants using conventional precursors. Herein, atomically dispersed dysprosium-nitrogen-carbon (DyNC) nanosheets were developed via the pyrolysis of anitrogen-containing chelate compound of 2, 4, 6-Tri (2-pyridyl) 1, 3, 5-triazine (TPTZ) ligand with Dy under the assistance of molten NaCl. The as-synthesized DyNC features specific moieties of single Dy atom coordinated by N and O as active sites for ORR, displaying excellent performance.