Preparation of Hollow CeO2/CePO4 with Nitrogen and Phosphorus Co-Doped Carbon Shells for Enhanced Oxygen Reduction Reaction Catalytic Activity

Yue Yu, Bowen He, Yujia Liao, Xiaodan Yu, Zhongcheng Mu, Yan Xing,* and Shuangxi Xing*

Abstract:

Achieving active and sustainable electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction with low cost and high performance attracts great interest in the field of fuel cells. Here, we report a facile route to prepare hollow CeO2/CePO4@N,P co-doped carbon by pyrolyzing CeO2@polyaniline obtained in the presence of phytic acid. By virtue of the co-doping of N and P elements as well as the existence of oxygen vacancies and the formation of a void, the product illustrated excellent catalytic activity towards the oxygen reduction reaction with onset and half-wave potentials of 0.918 and 0.822 V, respectively, and a current density of 4.38 mAcm@2 at 0.565 V vs. RHE. Furthermore, it presented high durability and strong methanol tolerance, revealing its great potential for applications in energy conversion.