Overwhelming electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction of zinc-nitrogen-carbon from biomass resource chitosan via a facile carbon bath method

Developing high efficiency and low cost electrocatalysts is critical for the enhancement of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), which is the fundamental for the development and commercialization of renewable energy conversion technology. Herein, zinc-nitrogen-carbon (Zn-N-C) was prepared by using biomass resource chitosan via a facile carbon bath method. The obtained Zn-N-C delivered a high specific surface area (794.7 cm2/g) together with pore volume (0.49 cm3/g). During the electrochemical evaluation of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), Zn-N-C displayed high activity for ORR with an onset potential E0 = 0.96 VRHE and a half wave potential E1/2 = 0.86 VRHE, which were more positive than those of the commercial 20 wt% Pt/C benchmark catalyst (E0 = 0.96 VRHE and E1/2 = 0.81 VRHE). In addition, the Zn-N-C catalyst also had a better stability and methanol tolerance than those of the Pt/C catalyst.