TY - JOUR A1 - Gong, M. A1 - Mehmood, Asad A1 - Ali, B. A1 - Nam, K.-W. A1 - Kucernak, A. T1 - Oxygen Reduction Reaction Activity in Non-Precious Single-Atom (M−N/C) Catalysts − Contribution of Metal and Carbon/Nitrogen Framework-Based Sites N2 - We examine the performance of a number of single-atom M−N/C electrocatalysts with a common structure in order to deconvolute the activity of the framework N/C support from the metal M−N4 sites in M−N/Cs. The formation of the N/C framework with oordinating nitrogen sites is performed using zinc as a templating agent. After the formation of the electrically conducting carbon−nitrogen metal-coordinating network, we (trans)metalate with different metals producing a range of different catalysts (Fe−N/C, Co−N/C, Ni−N/C, Sn−N/C, Sb−N/C, and Bi−N/C) without the formation of any metal particles. In these materials, the structure of the carbon/nitrogen framework remains unchanged-only the coordinated metal is substituted. We assess the performance of the subsequent catalysts in acid, near-neutral, and alkaline environments toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and ascribe and quantify the performance to a combination of metal site activity and activity of the carbon/nitrogen framework. The ORR activity of the carbon/nitrogen framework is about 1000-fold higher in alkaline than it is in acid, suggesting a change in mechanism. At 0.80 VRHE, only Fe and Co contribute ORR activity significantly beyond that provided by the carbon/nitrogen framework at all pH values studied. In acid and near-neutral pH values (pH 0.3 and 5.2, respectively), Fe shows a 30-fold improvement and Co shows a 5-fold improvement, whereas in alkaline pH (pH 13), both Fe and Co show a 7-fold improvement beyond the baseline framework activity. The site density of the single metal atom sites is estimated using the nitrite adsorption and stripping method. This method allows us to deconvolute the framework sites and metal-based active sites. The framework site density of catalysts is estimated as 7.8 × 1018 sites g−1. The metal M−N4 site densities in Fe−N/C and Co−N/C are 9.4 × 1018 sites−1 and 4.8 × 1018 sites g−1, respectively. KW - Active site density KW - Fuel cells KW - Single-atom catalysts KW - Oxygen reduction reaction KW - PGM-free catalysts KW - M−N/Cs PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-575640 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.3c00356 SN - 2155-5435 VL - 13 IS - 10 SP - 6661 EP - 6674 PB - American Chemical Society AN - OPUS4-57564 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wu, J. A1 - Gong, M. A1 - Zhang, W. A1 - Mehmood, Asad A1 - Zhang, J. A1 - Ali, G. A1 - Kucernak, A. T1 - Simultaneously incorporating atomically dispersed Co-Nₓ sites with graphitic carbon layer-wrapped Co₉S₈ nanoparticles for oxygen reduction in acidic electrolyte N2 - A facile yet robust synthesis is reported herein to simultaneously incorporate atomically dispersed Co-Nₓ sites with graphitic layer-protected Co₉S₈ nanoparticles (denoted as Co SACs+Co₉S₈) as an efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction in acidic solution. The Co SACs+Co₉S₈ catalyst shows low H₂O₂ selectivity (∼5 %) with high half-wave potential (E1/2) of ∼0.78 V(RHE) in 0.5 M H₂SO₄. The atomic sites of the catalyst were quantified by a nitrite stripping method and the corresponding site density of the catalyst is calculated to be 3.2×10¹⁸ sites g⁻¹. Besides, we also found the presence of a reasonable amount of Co₉S₈ nanoparticles is beneficial for the oxygen electrocatalysis. Finally, the catalyst was assembled into a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) for evaluating its performance under more practical conditions in proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system. KW - Co−N-Cs KW - Fuel cells KW - Single-atom catalysts KW - Oxygen reduction reaction KW - PGM-free catalysts PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-575993 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/celc.202300110 SN - 2196-0216 VL - 10 IS - 12 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-57599 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -