Enhancement of Electrocatalytic Oxygen Reduction Reaction and Oxygen Evolution Reaction by Introducing Lanthanum Species in the Carbon Shell.

The development of cost-effective non-noble metal electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) opens up the possibility for sustainable energy systems. Herein, we report a surface overcoating strategy with lanthanum organic complex (La-OC) as the precursor to prepare lanthanum species (La-SPc) encapsulated in nitrogen, fluorine, and sulfur self-doped porous carbon (NFS-PC) composites (La-SPc@NFS-PC) for efficient ORR and OER. The La-SPc is introduced not only as a promoter to increase the electrochemical stability of the La-SPc@NFS-PC catalysts but also to tailor the electronic structure of NFS-PC due to the unique electrochemical properties of La-SPc.

Highly ordered micro-meso-macroporous Co-N-doped carbon polyhedrons from bimetal-organic frameworks for rechargeable Zn-air batteries.

Rational design of non-precious metal catalysts for efficient oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions (ORR/OER) is important for rechargeable metal-air batteries. Building highly ordered porous structures while maintaining their overall crystalline orderliness is highly desirable, but remains an arduous challenge. Here, we have synthesized bimetallic metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) on highly ordered three-dimensional (3D) polystyrene templates by controlling the nucleation process.

3D Rosa centifolia-like CeO encapsulated with N-doped carbon as an enhanced electrocatalyst for Zn-air batteries.

Reasonable design and synthesis of high-efficiency rare earth oxides-based materials as alternatives to noble-metal catalysts are of great significance for oxygen electrocatalysis. Herein, we report three-dimension (3D) Rosa centifolia-like CeO encapsulated with N-doped carbon (NC) composites (CeO@NC) for enhancing oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activities. This synthetic method allows CeO to tune the oxygen vacancy concentration and electronic structure of a series of CeO@NC catalysts due to its large oxygen-storage-capacity (OSC) property.

Nitrogen-Doped Graphitic Carbon-Supported Ultrafine Co Nanoparticles as an Efficient Multifunctional Electrocatalyst for HER and Rechargeable Zn-Air Batteries.

The construction of high-efficiency electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution, oxygen reduction, and oxygen evolution reactions (HER/ORR/OER) is critical for the overall water splitting system, fuel cells, and rechargeable metal-air batteries. Here, we report a viable strategy for tuning the size of a Co-based zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF). As a result, a nitrogen-doped graphitic carbon-supported ultrafine Co nanoparticle electrocatalyst (Co/NGC-3) with multifunctional activity was developed.