Carbothermal shock synthesis of CoO/N/C nanoparticles with superior durability for oxygen reduction reaction

Designing an efficient and stable non-precious metal cathode catalyst is essential to reduce fuel cell cost and promote fuel cell commercialization. Herein, ZIF-67 and carbon powder are rapidly heated using a transient Joule heat device to pyrolyze ZIF-67 to form a CoO/N/C nanocatalysts. The prepared CoO/N/C-90 is comprised of 3–4 nm CoO nanoparticles loaded on a carbon substrate. In alkaline medium the Tafel slope of CoO/N/C-90 is 50 mV dec−1, and a half-wave potential (E1/2) of 0.82 V towards oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The E1/2 only experiences a negative shift of 4 mV after 40,000 cyclic voltammetry (CV) cycles, demonstrating excellent catalytic reaction kinetics and durability. The CoO/N/C-90 is assembled into direct borohydride fuel cells (DBFC) as a cathode, achieving a maximum power density (Pmax) of 526 mW cm−2 at 60 °C. This work indicates that the CoO/N/C-90 is an efficient and stable non-precious metal catalyst for DBFCs.