Highly durable atomically dispersed Co/N/C electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction

Atomically dispersed catalysts, characterized by their high atom utilization efficiency and distinct catalytic activity, exhibit advantages in reducing fuel cell costs. Herein, we synthesized Co/N/C atomic catalysts by acid leaching of CoO/N/C prepared through carbothermal shock. The resulting Co/N/C-130 demonstrates outstanding performance for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media. It displays a half-wave potential ( E 1/2 ) of 0.82 V and a Tafel slope of 47.1 mV dec −1 . Furthermore, it exhibits excellent stability with a positive E 1/2 shift of 6 mV after 40,000 cycles. When applied as a cathode catalyst in a direct borohydride fuel cell (DBFC), Co/N/C-130 achieves a maximum power density of 396 mW cm −2 at 60 °C. Long-term durability test at 50 mA cm −2 reveals a power retention of 90.8% after 24 h and 76.3% after 50 h. These results demonstrate that Co/N/C-130 atomic catalyst is a highly efficient and durable non-precious metal catalyst for ORR. Graphical abstract