Catalysis of Oxygen Reduction Reaction on Atomically Dispersed Copper- and Nitrogen-Codoped Graphene

Development of atomically dispersed transition metal catalysts with high atom utilization for efficient oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysis is an interesting and promising theme in substituting platinum to address energy and environmental issues. Herein, an atomically dispersed Cu- and N-codoped graphene material was prepared by a simple thermal decomposition process. The catalyst exhibits good ORR performance in alkaline media, including a positive onset potential (∼0.94 V vs RHE) and half-wave potential (0.84 V vs RHE), a low Tafel slope of 48.0 mV dec–1, remarkable catalytic stability, and strong tolerance to methanol crossover. The single-site Cu–N–C might be the active site toward efficient ORR. This work offers a facile synthesis strategy to prepare a single-site Cu-based catalyst for energy transformation and storage systems.