Ni-doped Mn2O3 Microspheres as a highly Efficient Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

초록

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has been regarded as promising energy conversion system due to no release of carbon-based byproduct [1]. However, the sluggish kinetics of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) severely impede the practical application of PEMFC. Pt-based catalysts have generally regarded as the most effective catalysts to make oxygen molecules undergo efficient reduction reactions at the cathode until now. However, Pt-based catalysts have several disadvantages such as high cost, low abundance, and poor durability, which brings in substantial challenges in practical applications. In order to overcome this issue, great efforts have been devoted to developing transition metal-based electrocatalysts for ORR due to their abundance and great redox property. Herein, nickel-doped manganese oxides were successfully synthesized by coprecipitation and oxidation. The particle size of the nickel-doped manganese oxides was systemically engineered by adjusting pH during the synthesis [2]. With the large electrochemical active surface area and advantages of metal doping, the optimized nickel-doped manganese oxide showed outstanding electrocatalytic activity for ORR and excellent long-term stability, which is superior to the state-of-art Pt/C