Investigation of ZIF-derived Co, N co-doped porous carbon-supported Au nanoparticles as an effective catalyst for borohydride electrooxidation

ZIF-derived Co, N co-doped porous carbon-supported Au nanoparticles (Au/CoNPC) are synthesized via a novel facile pyrolysis method. The morphology, crystal structure, surface composition and chemical state of the Au/CoNPC composite catalysts are investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The catalytic properties of Au/CoNPC for the borohydride oxidation reaction (BOR) are investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry (CA), chronopotentiometry (CP), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), and rotating disc electrode (RDE) voltammetry. Among the as-prepared catalysts, the Au/CoNPC-40 catalyst shows the highest catalytic activity for the BOR. The BOR peak current density on the Au/CoNPC-40 electrode is up to 48.4 mA cm−2 and the transferred electron number is up to 7.5.