Cerium-Incorporated Carbon Catalysts Prepared via a Biomass–Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework Hybrid Strategy for Efficient Oxygen Reduction
- 1State Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (LoFE) & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), School of Flexible Electronics (Future Technologies), Nanjing Tech University (NanjingTech), Nanjing 211816, China
Abstract
Cerium (Ce)-incorporated carbon catalysts, particularly Ce catalysts with Ce–N active sites supported by carbon, have emerged as promising alternatives to noble metal-based catalysts for electrocatalyzing the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, most carbon-supported Ce catalysts featuring Ce–N active sites remain at the proof-of-concept stage, with challenges in synthesis, including the lack of facile synthesis strategies compatible with scalable production. Herein, we present a simple and direct method for preparing Ce-incorporated carbon catalysts by carbonizing a mixture of vital wheat gluten, a type of renewable biomass, and Ce-doped zeolitic imidazolate framework-8. The optimized catalyst exhibits a half-wave potential of 0.82 V and good stability in an alkaline electrolyte. Structural and electrochemical analyses indicate that both CeO2 nanoparticles and Ce–N moieties exist in the obtained catalyst, while the Ce–N moieties are responsible for its efficient ORR activity. A zinc-air battery based on this catalyst delivers a higher peak power density and better durability (90 h) than one based on Pt/C. These results should pave the way for the biomass-assisted synthesis of Ce-incorporated carbon catalysts for ORR, providing a foundation for future scalable production.
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BibTeX
@article{yue2026ceriumincorporated,
title = {{Cerium-Incorporated Carbon Catalysts Prepared via a Biomass–Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework Hybrid Strategy for Efficient Oxygen Reduction}},
author = {Shanhu Yue and Dewei Chen and Ruigang Liu and Lin Fang and Yanli Dai and Min Lu and Xiaoji Xie},
journal = {Catalysts},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/catal16100899},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/16/10/899},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Cerium-Incorporated Carbon Catalysts Prepared via a Biomass–Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework Hybrid Strategy for Efficient Oxygen Reduction
AU - Shanhu Yue
AU - Dewei Chen
AU - Ruigang Liu
AU - Lin Fang
AU - Yanli Dai
AU - Min Lu
AU - Xiaoji Xie
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/10
JO - Catalysts
DO - 10.3390/catal16100899
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/16/10/899
AB - Cerium (Ce)-incorporated carbon catalysts, particularly Ce catalysts with Ce–N active sites supported by carbon, have emerged as promising alternatives to noble metal-based catalysts for electrocatalyzing the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, most carbon-supported Ce catalysts featuring Ce–N active sites remain at the proof-of-concept stage, with challenges in synthesis, including the lack of facile synthesis strategies compatible with scalable production. Herein, we present a simple and direct method for preparing Ce-incorporated carbon catalysts by carbonizing a mixture of vital wheat gluten, a type of renewable biomass, and Ce-doped zeolitic imidazolate framework-8. The optimized catalyst exhibits a half-wave potential of 0.82 V and good stability in an alkaline electrolyte. Structural and electrochemical analyses indicate that both CeO2 nanoparticles and Ce–N moieties exist in the obtained catalyst, while the Ce–N moieties are responsible for its efficient ORR activity. A zinc-air battery based on this catalyst delivers a higher peak power density and better durability (90 h) than one based on Pt/C. These results should pave the way for the biomass-assisted synthesis of Ce-incorporated carbon catalysts for ORR, providing a foundation for future scalable production.
SN - 2073-4344
ER -