Natural organisms contain rich elements and naturally optimized smart structures,both of which have inspired various innovative concepts and desig ns in human society.In particular,several natural organisms have been ...Natural organisms contain rich elements and naturally optimized smart structures,both of which have inspired various innovative concepts and desig ns in human society.In particular,several natural organisms have been used as element sources to synthesize low-cost and environmentally friendly electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)in fuel cells and metal-air batteries,which are clean energy devices.However,to date,no naturally optimized smart structures have been employed in the synthesis of ORR catalysts,including graphene-based materials.Here,we demonstrate a novel strategy to synthesize graphene-graphite films(GGFs)by heating butterfly wings coated with FeCI3 in N2,in which the full power of natural organisms is utilized.The wings work not only as an element source for GGF generation but also as a porous supporting structure for effective nitrogen doping,two-dimensional spreading,and double-face exposure of the GGFs.These GGFs exhibit a half-wave potential of 0.942 V and a H2O2 yield of<0.07%for ORR electrocatalysis;these values are comparable to those for the best commercial Pt/C and all previously reported ORR catalysts in alkaline media.This two-in-one strategy is also successful with cicada and dragonfly wings,indicating that it is a universal,green,and cost-effective method for developing high-performance graphene-based materials.展开更多
基金the National Key R&D Program of China(No.2017YFA0700104)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.21601136 and 11404016)+1 种基金the National Program for Thousand Young Talents of China,Tianjin Municipal Education Commission,Tianjin Municipal Science and Technology Commission(No.15JCYBJC52600)the Fundamental Research Fund of Tianjin University of Technology.
文摘Natural organisms contain rich elements and naturally optimized smart structures,both of which have inspired various innovative concepts and desig ns in human society.In particular,several natural organisms have been used as element sources to synthesize low-cost and environmentally friendly electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)in fuel cells and metal-air batteries,which are clean energy devices.However,to date,no naturally optimized smart structures have been employed in the synthesis of ORR catalysts,including graphene-based materials.Here,we demonstrate a novel strategy to synthesize graphene-graphite films(GGFs)by heating butterfly wings coated with FeCI3 in N2,in which the full power of natural organisms is utilized.The wings work not only as an element source for GGF generation but also as a porous supporting structure for effective nitrogen doping,two-dimensional spreading,and double-face exposure of the GGFs.These GGFs exhibit a half-wave potential of 0.942 V and a H2O2 yield of<0.07%for ORR electrocatalysis;these values are comparable to those for the best commercial Pt/C and all previously reported ORR catalysts in alkaline media.This two-in-one strategy is also successful with cicada and dragonfly wings,indicating that it is a universal,green,and cost-effective method for developing high-performance graphene-based materials.
