Biomass-derived porous carbon has gained significant attention as a cost-effective and sustainable material in non-noble metal carbon-based electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, during the preparation of transition metal catalysts based on biomass-derived porous carbon, the agglomeration of transition metal atoms often occurs, leading to a notable decline in catalytic activity. In this study, we present a straightforward synthetic approach for the preparation of nitrogen-enriched soybean-derived porous carbon (Co@SP-C-a) as an electrocatalyst for the ORR. To achieve this, we employed a two-step method. In the first step, a chemical activator (KCl) was utilized to enhance the porosity of the self-doped nitrogen biomass carbon material. In the second step, a constant pressure drop funnel technique was employed to uniformly disperse bimetal cobalt/zinc-based zeolitic imidazolium frameworks (ZIF-L and ZIF-67) containing different metal ions (Zn²⁺ and Co²⁺) into the activated biomass carbon material. Subsequent high-temperature calcination of the ZIF-L and ZIF-67@SP-C-a composite precursor yielded the Co@SP-C-a catalyst. The obtained catalyst exhibited remarkable ORR activity in an alkaline solution (E_onset = 0.89 V, E_1/2 = 0.83 V, J_L = −6.13 mA·cm⁻²) and exceptional long-term stability. This study presents an effective strategy to prevent the agglomeration of metal nanoparticles when integrating them with biomass-based carbon materials, thus leading to enhanced catalytic performance.

It is essential to develop cost-effective rechargeable metal–air batteries, with high activity, stability, and efficiency, that use non-precious metals (NPMs)-based cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts. Here, by using earth-abundant corncob (CC) as the carbon source, Co(OH)₂, NaH₂PO₄, and melamine as the precursors, and KOH as the chemical activator, CoNP@bio-C-a is obtained and comparative studies are carried out with three other types of CC-derived carbon-based catalytic materials, namely, bio-C, CoP@bio-C, and CoNP@bio-C. Depending mainly on the formation of Co₂O₃/Co₂N_0.67 active sites (as p–n heterojunctions) and N, P, O-containing functional groups, the resultant CoNP@bio-C-a catalyst exhibits best electrocatalytic activity among the four types of catalysts; via a 4-electron pathway, it has good stability and good methanol tolerance. In addition, its unique honeycomb-like porous structure, high graphitization degree, and abundant oxygen-containing groups contribute to its excellent ORR activity. This study provides insights for exploring the application of heteroatom-doped biomass-derived carbon catalysts.

Highly dispersed Cu@FeCo/rGO catalysts have been prepared by two-step reduction method and used for hydrogen production from ammonia borane (NH ₃ BH ₃ , AB) hydrolysis at 298 K.

A novel polyurethane elastomer with self-healing properties has been synthesized and was used as a modifier to modify asphalt.

Four Fe/Co ratio composite catalysts were synthesized via freeze-drying and in situ calcination. Among them, Co ₃ Fe ₇ /CoFe ₂ O ₄ @NC-1 demonstrated superior 4-NP reduction activity, while Co ₃ Fe ₇ /CoFe ₂ O ₄ @NC-3 exceled in alkaline ORR performance.