1. Renewable lignin-derived heteroatom-doped porous carbon nanosheets as an efficient oxygen reduction catalyst for rechargeable zinc-air batteries.
- Author
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Huang, Jie, Liu, Xuejun, Yuan, Ding, Chen, Xiaolan, Wang, Minghui, Li, Meiyue, and Zhang, Lixue
- Subjects
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OXYGEN reduction , *STORAGE batteries , *PYROLYTIC graphite , *LIGNIN structure , *ACTIVE nitrogen , *WASTE recycling , *CATALYSTS , *NANOSTRUCTURED materials - Abstract
[Display omitted] Lignin upgrading to various functional products is promising to realize high-value utilization of low-cost and renewable biomass waste, but is still in its infancy. Herein, using industry waste lignosulfonate as the biomass-based carbon source and urea as the dopant, we constructed a heteroatom-doped porous carbon nanosheet structure by a simple NaCl template-assisted pyrolytic strategy. Through the synergistic effect of the NaCl template and urea, the optimized lignin-derived porous carbon catalyst with high content of active nitrogen species and large specific surface area can be obtained. As a result, the fabricated catalysts exhibited excellent electrocatalytic oxygen reduction activity, as well as good methanol tolerance and stability, comparable to that of commercial Pt/C. Moreover, rechargeable Zn-air batteries assembled with this electrocatalyst have a peak power density of up to 150 mW cm-2 and prominent long-term cycling stability. This study offers an inexpensive and efficient way for the massive production of highly active metal-free catalysts from the plentiful, inexpensive and environmentally friendly lignin, offering a good direction for biomass waste recycling and utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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