Nanoscale Carbon Modified α-MnO₂ Nanowires: Highly Active and Stable Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysts with Low...

Carbon-coated α-MnO₂ nanowires (C-MnO₂ NWs) were prepared from α-MnO₂ NWs by a two-step sucrose coating and pyrolysis method. This method resulted in the formation of a thin, porous, low mass-percentage amorphous carbon coating (<5 nm, ≤1.2 wt % C) on the nanowire with an increase in single-nanowire electronic conductivity of roughly 5 orders of magnitude (α-MnO₂, 3.2 × 10^-6 S cm^-1; C-MnO₂, 0.52 S cm^-1) and an increase in surface Mn³⁺ (average oxidation state: α-MnO₂, 3.88; C-MnO₂, 3.66) while suppressing a phase change to Mn₃O₄ at high temperature. The enhanced physical and electronic properties of the C-MnO₂ NWs-enriched surface Mn³⁺ and high conductivity-are manifested in the electrocatalytic activity toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), where a 13-fold increase in specific activity (α-MnO₂, 0.13 A m^-2; C-MnO₂, 1.70 A m^-2) and 6-fold decrease in charge transfer resistance (α-MnO₂, 6.2 kΩ; C-MnO₂, 0.9 kΩ) were observed relative to the precursor α-MnO₂ NWs. The C-MnO₂ NWs, composed of ∼99 wt % MnO₂ and ∼1 wt % carbon coating, also demonstrated an ORR onset potential within 20 mV of commercial 20% Pt/C and a chronoamperometric current/stability equal to or greater than 20% Pt/C at high overpotential (0.4 V vs RHE) and high temperature (60 °C) with no additional conductive carbon.