EFFECTS OF O-DOPING ON THE CATALYTIC EFFECIENCY OF COBALT-MODIFIED POROUS CARBON NANOCATALYSTS BY DIFFERENT SYNTHESIS METHODS

This study investigates the effects of cobalt (Co) and oxygen (O) doping on the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalytic performance of porous carbon materials that were subject to different combinations of acid, ultrasonic, and high-temperature treatments. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis unveiled that the acid and sonication treatments increased the oxygen contents on the porous carbon, which increased the Co loading. However, subsequent high-temperature treatment is necessary to facilitate a tighter integration of Co with the carbon matrix. Through cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) analyses, it was observed that samples after the triple treatment exhibited more positive ORR peak potentials and favored the 4-electron reaction pathway compared to their untreated counterparts. This research opens new avenues for the design and preparation of porous carbon catalysts, especially in exploring oxygen functional groups facilitating ORR-effective Co-doping on porous carbon materials.