Properties of Pyrolyzed Carbon-Supported Cobalt-Polypyrrole as Electrocatalyst toward Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Alkaline Media

A series of pyrolyzed carbon-supported cobalt-polypyrrole, Co-PPy-TsOH/C, were prepared with various cobalt precursors and at diverse temperatures as electrocatalysts toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The ORR performance of these catalysts in alkaline media was comparatively investigated using electrochemical techniques of cyclic voltammogram (CV) and rotating disk electrode (RDE). Physiochemical characterizations of X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to understand the results. It is found that the cobalt precursor as well as pyrolysis temperature plays essential role on the ORR performance of the Co-PPy-TsOH/C catalysts, cobalt acetate and 800 degrees C are the optimal metal precursor and pyrolysis temperature, respectively. (C) 2015 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.