Synergistic Effect of Oxygen Vacancy-Rich SnO2 and AgCl in the Augmentation of Sustained Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Developing a stable and methanol-tolerant electrocatalystfor asustained oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is of great importance foradvancing direct methanol fuel cell applications. The silver-basedelectrocatalysts are particularly interesting among the promisingnon-Pt-based electrocatalysts for ORR. Herein, we report a single-stepsynthesis of a composite of AgCl and SnO2 with oxygen vacancy(AgCl-SnO2(V-O)), which exhibits sustainedand selective catalytic activity for the ORR along with excellentdurability. Hydrothermal synthesis generates oxygen vacancies withinthe material and facilitates a strong interaction between AgCl andSnO(2)(V-O), which effectively augments the ORRactivity and the long-term stability of the composite. The compositeexhibits remarkable methanol tolerance, as evidenced by a meager shiftof only 0.002 V in the half-wave potential. Furthermore, the compositedemonstrates excellent durability, with no noticeable changes in onsetand half-wave potential even after 2500 cycles. The cost-effectiveness,durability, and ORR selectivity of this composite hold great promisetoward contributing to the advancement of clean energy technology.