Ingeniously introducing of boron to adjust hetero-atoms and their bonding with cobalt for improving the catalysis of oxygen reduction reaction

A novel method of introducing boron element was used to prepare a composite catalyst in which cobalt nanoparticles were embedded in N, B, and S-doped carbon matrix (Co-NBSC). This method can significantly retain the nitrogen content in the catalyst by introducing only a small amount of boron. The bonding ability of cobalt to hetero-atoms was also improved. The optimized bonding patterns between heteroatoms and metal-cobalt have further improved the performance of catalyzing the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Electrochemical tests show that the Co-NBSC catalyst possesses an onset potential of 0.93 V, a half wave potential of 0.84 V and a current density of 5.58 mA/cm(2) as well as excellent stability in an alkaline solution. In addition, Co-NBSC based zinc-air battery exhibited a power density of 121.2 mW/cm(2) and a discharge stability of more than 30 h. The synthesis strategy can provide new ideas for the future development of low cost non-precious metal-carbon catalyst of ORR.