Synthesis of nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide as metal-free electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reactions

Abstract

Developing high performance and low cost electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reactions (ORR) is pivotal for the commercial viability of fuel cells. In this context, great effort has been devoted to developing non-precious metal catalysts or even metal-free catalysts for ORR. Here, we successfully prepared nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (NRGO) with high surface area via KOH activation, followed by thermal treatment under ammonia gas for the incorporation of nitrogen into the carbon lattice. The NRGO catalyst exhibited high electrocatalytic activity towards ORR as compared to commercial Pt/C catalyst, suggesting that it might be possible to develop NRGO into a cost-effective and highly active catalyst, as an alternative to the Pt-based catalysts.