Synthesis of Ultrathin MoS2 Nanosheets Embedded in 3D Hierarchically Nitrogen-and-Sulfur Co-Doped Porous Carbon Composites as Efficient Oxygen Reduction Reaction Catalyst

Graphical Basic instinct : Catalysts comprising MoS 2 incorporated into 3D hierarchically N,S co-doped carbon composites (MoS 2 @NSC) are prepared by using functional fluidic acrylonitrile telomer as a carbon source and doping agent, and SiO 2 as a hard template. The optimal catalyst exhibits effective oxygen reduction reaction catalytic activity with the initial potential of 0.93 V and half-potential of 0.82 V in basic electrolyte with a four-electron reduction process and a superior durability and methanol tolerance. Catalysts comprising MoS 2 incorporated into 3D hierarchically N,S co-doped carbon composites (MoS 2 @NSC) were prepared through a facile and scalable method by using the functional fluidic acrylonitrile telomer as a carbon source and doping agent, and SiO 2 as a hard template. The optimal catalyst, MoS 2 @NSC-2, showed effective oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalytic activity with the initial potential of 0.93 V and half-potential of 0.82 V in basic electrolyte. In addition, MoS 2 @NSC-2 favored a four-electron reduction process and demonstrated a superior durability and methanol tolerance, which could be ascribed to its unique porous structure that can effectively facilitate the transfer of electrolyte and O 2 molecules. The Mo−N x species are formed due to the doping of N atoms into the crystal lattice of MoS 2 , which can further enhance the ORR catalytic activity. Our work affords a forward-looking strategy for designing efficient and low-cost ORR catalysts on a large scale.