Solution combustion synthesis of ternary Ni/WC/C composites with efficient electrocatalytic oxygen reduction performance

In this paper, a fast processing route involving a wet-chemical method (solution combustion synthesis, SCS) and carbonization in a CH₄ environment was demonstrated, through which nanosized Ni/WC/C powder with an average size of 80 nm was obtained. In the catalyst powder, Ni was evenly distributed and it could form NiOOH to promote catalysis, and an amorphous carbon (C) layer with a thickness of <10 nm was formed on the surface of the composite particles, improving the stability of the Ni/WC powder and promoting electron transport. Due to the characteristics of uniformity and a large specific surface area and the synergistic effect of Ni, WC, and C, this powder showed significantly improved ORR catalytic activity in alkaline solution. When the amount of Ni doping was 15 wt%, the composite powder showed the smallest particle size and the best ORR catalytic performance. Its cathode peak potential was −0.31 V and the half wave potential was −0.34 V. The number of electrons transferred in the ORR reaction was 3.6. This work provided a fast and cheap method for the preparation of multicomponent composite catalyst materials.

A Ni/WC/C catalyst synthesized via a rapid combustion method showed considerable efficiency in the oxygen reduction reaction. The excellent performance is attributed to a synergistic effect arising from the ternary composite and solution combustion.