Molten Salt‐Assisted Synthesis of Porous Precious Metal‐Based Single‐Atom Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Abstract Precious metal‐based single‐atom catalysts (PM‐SACs) hosted in N‐doped carbon supports have shown new opportunities to revolutionize cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, stabilizing the high density of PM‐Nx sites remains a challenge, primarily due to the inherently high free...

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Main Authors: Chenming Fan, Xin Gao, Pengyi Tang, Qiang Wang, Bing Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-02-01
Series:Advanced Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202410784
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author Chenming Fan
Xin Gao
Pengyi Tang
Qiang Wang
Bing Li
author_facet Chenming Fan
Xin Gao
Pengyi Tang
Qiang Wang
Bing Li
author_sort Chenming Fan
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Precious metal‐based single‐atom catalysts (PM‐SACs) hosted in N‐doped carbon supports have shown new opportunities to revolutionize cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, stabilizing the high density of PM‐Nx sites remains a challenge, primarily due to the inherently high free energy of isolated metal atoms, predisposing them to facile atomic agglomeration. Herein, a molten salt‐assisted synthesis strategy is proposed to prepare porous PM1/N‐CPores (PM = Ru, Pt, and Pd) electrocatalysts with densely accessible PM‐Nx sites. A hierarchically porous N‐doped carbon substrate (N‐CPores), synthesized via the NaCl‐assisted pyrolysis of zeolitic imidazolate framework‐8, effectively improves the utilization of PM‐Nx sites by increased reactants accessible surface area and reduced mass transfer resistance. In accordance with theoretical calculations, the as‐prepared Ru1/N‐CPores, featuring superior intrinsic active Ru‐N4 sites, exhibit outstanding ORR turnover frequency of 6.19 e− site−1 s−1, and outperforms the commercial Pt/C with a 5.3‐fold of mass activity (5.83 ± 0.61 A mg−1) at 0.8 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode. The commendable activity and stability of Ru1/N‐CPores in a real fuel cell device further affirm its practical applicability.
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spelling doaj-art-79f1e49b598844a280111e2afa39da532025-08-20T01:51:48ZengWileyAdvanced Science2198-38442025-02-01128n/an/a10.1002/advs.202410784Molten Salt‐Assisted Synthesis of Porous Precious Metal‐Based Single‐Atom Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction ReactionChenming Fan0Xin Gao1Pengyi Tang2Qiang Wang3Bing Li4School of Mechanical and Power Engineering East China University of Science and Technology Shanghai 200237 P. R. ChinaSchool of Mechanical and Power Engineering East China University of Science and Technology Shanghai 200237 P. R. China2020 X‐Lab Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai 200050 P. R. China2020 X‐Lab Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai 200050 P. R. ChinaSchool of Mechanical and Power Engineering East China University of Science and Technology Shanghai 200237 P. R. ChinaAbstract Precious metal‐based single‐atom catalysts (PM‐SACs) hosted in N‐doped carbon supports have shown new opportunities to revolutionize cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, stabilizing the high density of PM‐Nx sites remains a challenge, primarily due to the inherently high free energy of isolated metal atoms, predisposing them to facile atomic agglomeration. Herein, a molten salt‐assisted synthesis strategy is proposed to prepare porous PM1/N‐CPores (PM = Ru, Pt, and Pd) electrocatalysts with densely accessible PM‐Nx sites. A hierarchically porous N‐doped carbon substrate (N‐CPores), synthesized via the NaCl‐assisted pyrolysis of zeolitic imidazolate framework‐8, effectively improves the utilization of PM‐Nx sites by increased reactants accessible surface area and reduced mass transfer resistance. In accordance with theoretical calculations, the as‐prepared Ru1/N‐CPores, featuring superior intrinsic active Ru‐N4 sites, exhibit outstanding ORR turnover frequency of 6.19 e− site−1 s−1, and outperforms the commercial Pt/C with a 5.3‐fold of mass activity (5.83 ± 0.61 A mg−1) at 0.8 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode. The commendable activity and stability of Ru1/N‐CPores in a real fuel cell device further affirm its practical applicability.https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202410784atomically dispersed precious metalmolten salt‐assisted pyrolysisoxygen reduction reactionporous nitrogen‐doped carbon
spellingShingle Chenming Fan
Xin Gao
Pengyi Tang
Qiang Wang
Bing Li
Molten Salt‐Assisted Synthesis of Porous Precious Metal‐Based Single‐Atom Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction
Advanced Science
atomically dispersed precious metal
molten salt‐assisted pyrolysis
oxygen reduction reaction
porous nitrogen‐doped carbon
title Molten Salt‐Assisted Synthesis of Porous Precious Metal‐Based Single‐Atom Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction
title_full Molten Salt‐Assisted Synthesis of Porous Precious Metal‐Based Single‐Atom Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction
title_fullStr Molten Salt‐Assisted Synthesis of Porous Precious Metal‐Based Single‐Atom Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction
title_full_unstemmed Molten Salt‐Assisted Synthesis of Porous Precious Metal‐Based Single‐Atom Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction
title_short Molten Salt‐Assisted Synthesis of Porous Precious Metal‐Based Single‐Atom Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction
title_sort molten salt assisted synthesis of porous precious metal based single atom catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction
topic atomically dispersed precious metal
molten salt‐assisted pyrolysis
oxygen reduction reaction
porous nitrogen‐doped carbon
url https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202410784
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AT pengyitang moltensaltassistedsynthesisofporouspreciousmetalbasedsingleatomcatalystsforoxygenreductionreaction
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