This work reports
the synthesis of Co3O4 particles
that can be used as effective electrode materials for both the oxygen
reduction (ORR) and evolution (OER) reactions. The development of
such catalysts, free from precious group metals and capable of decreasing
overpotentials in fuel cells, metal–air batteries, and water
electrolyzers, also requires stable supporting and conducting substrates
in order to deposit low metal oxide loadings. This challenging approach
led us to prepare Co3O4 materials on graphene-based
composites more stable than common used Vulcan carbon. Co3O4 particles synthesized from a solvothermal method were
thereby deposited onto reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and N-doped reduced
graphene oxide (NRGO) prepared from the Hummers method. The structural
properties and surface composition of the different materials characterized
by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray
induced photoelectron spectroscopy measurements were combined to cyclic
voltammetry experiments for revealing the charge transfer from cobalt
to nitrogen, which greatly affects the charge acceptance of the surface
Co atoms. Electrochemical measurements provided sound evidence of
active and stable Co3O4 catalysts toward the
ORR and OER.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.