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Nitrogen-doped crumpled graphene (NCG) is successfully synthesized via vapor phase deposition of polypyrrole onto graphene aerogel followed by thermal treatment. The NCG was explored as an electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction, showing comparable electrocatalytic performance with the commercial Pt/C in alkaline membrane exchange fuel cells because of the well-regulated nitrogen doping and the robust micro-3D crumpled porous nanostructure.

Palladium-Nickel (Pd-Ni) hollow nanoparticles were synthesized via a modified galvanic replacement method using Ni nanoparticles as sacrificial templates in an aqueous medium. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy show that the as-synthesized nanoparticles are alloyed nanostructures and have hollow interiors with an average particle size of 30 nm and shell thickness of 5 nm. Compared with the commercially available Pt/C or Pd/C catalysts, the synthesized PdNi/C has superior electrocatalytic performance towards the oxygen reduction reaction, which makes it a promising electrocatalyst for alkaline anion exchange membrane fuel cells and alkali-based air-batteries. The electrocatalyst is finally examined in an H2/O2 alkaline anion exchange membrane fuel cell; the results show that such electrocatalysts could work in a real fuel cell application as a more efficient catalyst than state-of-the-art commercially available Pt/C.