Compositing Fullerene-Derived Porous Carbon Fibers with Reduced Graphene Oxide for Enhanced ORR Catalytic Performance

Abstract

Compositing all-carbon materials with distinct dimensions and structures has demonstrated the great potential to bring synergistic promotion to individual components for the electrocatalytic activity of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Fullerene-derived porous carbon fibers (FPCFs) offer unique one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures with abundant defects and a large specific surface area while graphene features two-dimensional (2D) nanostructures with fast electron transfer. Both carbon materials are promising alternatives to Pt-based electrocatalysts for ORR. Herein, a novel hierarchical composite (FPCFs@rGO) composed of FPCFs and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is constructed by sonication-assisted mixing and high-temperature pyrolysis. When tested as an electrocatalyst for ORR, the 1D/2D FPCFs@rGO composite presents significantly enhanced performance compared to each individual component, indicating an eminent synergistic effect between FPCFs and rGO. The improved ORR performance of FPCFs@rGO is attributed to the unique hierarchical structure with abundant structural defects, a large specific surface area, and high porosity.