Rapid Controllable Synthesis of Atomically Dispersed Co on Carbon under High Voltage within One Minute

Developing a rapid and low cost approach to access atomically dispersed metal catalysts (ADMCs) supported by carbon is important but still challenging. Here, an electric flash strategy using high voltage for the rapid fabrication of carbon-supported ADMCs within 1 min is reported. Continuous plasma arc results in nitrogen-doped carbon ultrathin nanosheets, while an intermittent spark pulse constructs carbon hollow nanospheres via blasting effect, and both structures are decorated with atomically dispersed cobalt. The latter catalyst shows a half-wave potential of 0.887 V versus RHE (47 mV higher than commercial Pt/C) in an oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media. The authors' work paves the way to rapid synthesis of carbon-supported ADMCs at both low cost and mass production.