Enhancing performance of nitrogen-doped graphene nano-catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction by Ag loading

The performance of electrocatalysts in oxygen reduction reactions is crucial for clean energy technologies such as fuel cells and metal-air batteries. Developing highly active and low-cost oxygen reduction catalysts remains a significant challenge. In this work, a silver loaded nitrogen doped graphene sheet (Ag-NGs) nanocomposite with high ORR catalytic performance was synthesized by a microwave plasma technique. XPS analysis reveals that silver nanoparticles preferentially adsorb onto the graphite-nitrogen site structure, resulting in improved catalytic activity for ORR, a conclusion confirmed by first principles calculations. And the incorporation of high-level nitrogen doping into graphene with a pyridine structure also contributes to the improved performance of the ORR catalyst. Moreover, the Ag-NGs nanocomposite not only demonstrates exceptional catalytic activity for the four-electron pathway of oxygen reduction reactions, but also exhibits remarkable stability. This study underscores the potential of the Ag-loaded nitrogen-doped graphene nanocomposite as a promising electrocatalyst for utilization in clean-energy devices.