Heterostructural Co||Cu Coated with Nitrogen-Doped Carbon as a Highly Efficient Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Reduction Reaction and Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

The development of steady-going, economical, and competent electrocatalysts is essential for advancing energy storage and conversion technologies. This work adopts a one-pot solid-phase synthesis method to successfully prepare hierarchically structured electrocatalysts in which the heterostructure Co||Cu is encapsulated in nitrogen-doped carbon materials (Co||Cu/NC). The as-prepared Co||Cu/NC exhibits superior electrocatalytic performance than Pt/C for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and a promising electrocatalytic performance for hydrogen evolution reaction. What is more, Co||Cu/NC successfully demonstrated capacity in zinc–air batteries by demonstrating good power density, specific capacity, and convincing stability. Efficient electrocatalytic activity is attributed to the heterostructure, which causes charge redistribution, accelerates molecular adsorption, and promotes reaction process. Then, the N-doped carbon makes high conductivity and stability possible. This work delivers a promising strategy for designing and preparing high-efficiency, low-cost, and non-noble metal nanostructure electrocatalysts for ORR and water splitting.