Directly Anchoring Highly Dispersed Copper Sites on Nitrogen-Doped Carbon for Enhanced Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysis

A simple but efficient post-treatment strategy was developed to directly anchor highly active and dispersed copper sites on N/C for enhanced oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysis. The ORR activity and selectivity of the prepared Cu-N/C catalyst were significantly enhanced due to efficient binding of copper ions with nitrogen groups on the carbon skeleton to form highly active Cu-N sites. Moreover, the prepared Cu-N/C catalyst also exhibited excellent stability in alkaline electrolytes and Zn-air batteries, indicating great potential for energy applications.