Atomically Dispersed Selenium Sites on Nitrogen-Doped Carbon for Efficient Electrocatalytic Oxygen Reduction

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Catalysis

Background:

• Single-atom catalysts offer high atom utilization and unique electronic properties.
• Electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is crucial for energy conversion devices.
• Developing efficient and cost-effective ORR catalysts is a key challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prepare non-metal selenium single atoms embedded in nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) for ORR.
• To investigate the catalytic activity and stability of the synthesized material.
• To understand the mechanism of ORR on Se single atoms.

Main Methods:

• High-temperature reduction strategy for synthesizing Se single atoms in NC.
• Electrochemical characterization to evaluate ORR performance.
• Experimental and theoretical calculations (e.g., DFT) to elucidate the catalytic mechanism.

Main Results:

• Successfully synthesized non-metal Se single atoms anchored in NC via C-Se-C bonds.
• The Se single-atom catalyst exhibited outstanding ORR activity and stability.
• Performance surpassed state-of-the-art noble metal catalysts and previously reported nanocatalysts.
• Se single atoms were identified as the active sites for ORR, lowering the reaction barrier.

Conclusions:

• Non-metal Se single atoms in NC are highly effective electrocatalysts for ORR.
• This metal-free single-atom catalyst demonstrates superior performance compared to noble metals.
• The findings highlight the potential of single-atom-based materials for advanced electrocatalysis.