Bimetallic nitride Co3W3N nanoparticles anchored on ordered N-Doped porous Carbon: An efficient catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

Abstract

Carbon-supported transition metal nitrides (TMNs/C) have been considered as promising non-precious metal electrocatalysts toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in both fuel cells and metal–air batteries. However, the development of TMNs/C catalysts with high-performance by using simple and efficient synthesis is still a significant challenge. Here, an in-situ multi-constituents co-assembly strategy was applied to fabricate a novel carbon-supported bimetallic nitride Co3W3N composite, in which Co3W3N nanoparticles (NPs) uniformly anchored in N-doped ordered porous carbon (NPC). Within Co3W3N/NPC composite, the homogeneously dispersed Co3W3N NPs (∼9 nm) combined with N-doping possess highly ORR catalytic activity. its ordered mesoporous structure provides a three-dimensional conductive network and a high surface area (591.9 m2 g−1), which ensures fast electron transport and effective electrolyte infiltration. Due to the superiorities of material and structure, the Co3W3N/NPC served as ORR electrocatalyst shows almost the same excellent electrocatalytic activity with commercial Pt/C in alkaline media. Especially, its durability and methanol-tolerance ability in the ORR process are much better than those of commercial Pt/C. Furthermore, Co3W3N/NPC composite can also be used as cathodic catalyst of Li-O2 battery, which exhibits good rate capability and cycling stability.