Copper Doped Zeolitic Imidazole Frameworks (ZIF-8): A New Generation of Single-Atom Catalyst for Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Alkaline Media

Reasonable design of electrocatalyst based on abundant earth elements is of great importance for sustainable energy use. Transition metal nitrogen doped carbon (TM-N/C) materials demonstrate excellent catalytic activity. However, there is still a lack of comprehensive understanding of these TM-N/C-systems. Herein, we have developed an effective approach to develop highly active and stable Cu promoted N-doped carbon (Cu-N/C) catalysts. The impacts of copper doping and temperature of pyrolysis on catalytic performance have been studied. The Cu-NC-800 catalysts exhibited excellent catalytic activity and stability with an onset potential (E_o) of 0.99 V and half-wave potential (E_1/2) of 0.85 V. It also shows strong the long-term stability. The synergistic effect between Cu (II)-N ligand and Cu⁰ nanoparticles is high, the active center is small, the transfer of mass is rapid, and the electrocatalytic efficiency is increased. The findings showed that the non-noble metal-based catalyst’s bifunctional oxygen electrode activities prepared in this study were as high as those of commercial oxygen-based, noble metal catalysts.