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Updated: Apr 16, 2026

Synthesis of Metal Nanoparticles Supported on Carbon Nanotube with Doped Co and N Atoms and its Catalytic Applications in Hydrogen Production
Published on: December 6, 2021
Bifunctional metal-free catalysis of mesoporous noble carbons for oxygen reduction and evolution reactions
Ken Sakaushi1, Tim-Patrick Fellinger, Markus Antonietti
1Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Colloid Chemistry Department, Am Mühlenberg 1 OT Golm, 14476 Potsdam (Germany). ken.sakaushi@mpikg.mpg.de.
Abstract:
Electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are key reactions in lithium-oxygen batteries (LOBs) being a promising candidate to store renewable energies due to their high specific energy. However current development on LOBs is suffering from unsuitable catalysts. In particular, carbon-based catalysts were found to perform poorly in this system. Here, we show that metal-free mesoporous nitrogen-doped carbons (meso-NdCs) offer highly promising performances in both ORR and OER; they act as bifunctional catalysts, and can be synthesized by a very simple method. The efficient electrocatalytic activity of ORR and OER was used in a LOB cell during discharge and charge, respectively, and the present system showed a lower overpotential comparable to metal-based catalysts in LOB system. Thus, we demonstrate that meso-NdCs act as a new and affordable candidate for the efficient bifunctional oxygen catalysis, therefore can be applied to many energy-related applications.
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