Cobalt and copper nanoparticles on partially reduced graphene oxide interlayer spacing carbon nanotubes or carbon black as catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction

In this paper, we reported the synthesis of Co and Cu nanoparticles (NPs) supported on partially reduced graphene oxide (M/rGO), with the incorporation of spacers as multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and carbon black (CB) among graphene interlayers to generate carbon nanocomposites. The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) polarization curves show that the use of MWCNT as spacer improves the current density up to 6.9 times for Co NPs and up to 3.5 times for Cu NPs materials. Also, the charge transfer resistance decreases using CB: 950 times for Co NPs and 68 for Cu NPs materials. All carbon-nanocomposites present upgraded stability comparing to the commercial platinum catalyst (Pt/C).

Keywords: ORR, spacers, graphene, nanocomposites, Pt-free catalysts, fuel cells, alkaline, power generation.