Nanoporous molybdenum carbide wires as an active electrocatalyst towards the oxygen reduction reaction

Lei Liao, Xiaojun Bian, Jingjing Xiao, Baohong Liu, Micheál D. Scanlon, Hubert H. Girault

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A non-precious metal electrocatalyst has been developed for the oxygen reduction reaction based on nanoporous molybdenum carbide (nano-Mo2C) wires through a facile calcination of sub-nanometer periodic organic-inorganic hybrid nanowires. The highly dispersed Mo2C wires were composed of 10-15 nm nanocrystals with a mesopore size of 3.3 nm. The properties of nano-Mo2C wires were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and N 2 adsorption/desorption porosimetry. The highly active surface area and enriched nanoporosity for nano-Mo2C wires are unique features that make them a high-performance electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction in an alkaline medium. The electrocatalysis and reaction kinetics results show that nano-Mo2C-based materials can be developed as new catalysts with high activity at low cost for electrochemical energy conversion applications.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)10088-10094
Number of pages7
JournalPhysical Chemistry Chemical Physics
Volume16
Issue number21
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 7 Jun 2014
Externally publishedYes

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