Co_xC encased in carbon nanotubes: An efficient oxygen reduction catalyst under both acidic and alkaline conditions

The design of a non-precious metal oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst of high activity and long durability in acidic electrolyte is of great importance for the development and commercialization of low-temperature fuel cells, which remains a great challenge to date. Here, we demonstrate a facile, scalable protocol for the controlled synthesis of Co_xC encapsulated in carbon nanotubes as a novel kind of efficient electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst. The synthesized Co_xC/carbon nanotube features a high BET surface area, large pore volume and high graphitic content, which greatly favors enhanced ORR properties. The resultant composite electro-catalyst shows high ORR activity which is comparable with that of 20 wt% Pt/C in 0.1 M KOH electrolyte. More importantly, it also exhibits a high ORR activity in 0.1 M HClO₄ with a near-complete 4e pathway. More attractively, compared to the most investigated Fe_xC, Co_xC as the proposed main catalytically active center shows much enhanced activity in acidic electrolyte, which will pave the way towards the rational design of an advanced electro-catalyst for an efficient ORR process especially under acidic conditions. Moreover, a fuel cell using the synthesized Co_xC/carbon nanotube as a cathode catalyst showed a large open-circuit potential, high output power density and long durability, which make it a promising alternative to Pt/C as a non-precious metal ORR catalyst in proton exchange membrane fuel cells.