FeCo nanocrystals encapsulated in N-doped carbon nanospheres/thermal reduced graphene oxide hybrids: Facile synthesis, magnetic and catalytic properties

The hybrids of FeCo nanocrystals encapsulated in N-doped carbon nanospheres (FeCo–NCNS) supported on thermal reduced graphene oxide (FeCo–NCNS/TRGO) are synthesized by in situ growth of Co2Fe(CN)6 onto graphene oxide (GO), followed with a subsequent pyrolysis process. The as-synthesized products are characterized by transmission electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, elements analysis and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer. The hybrids exhibit excellent ferromagnetic behavior, superior electrocatalytic activity toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and markedly enhanced catalytic activity toward the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) by NaBH4, which make the hybrids be attractive materials for various potential applications. Moreover, the performance of the hybrids can be optimized through adjusting the content of FeCo–NCNS on thermal reduced graphene oxide. This novel and elegant method presented here could be extended to synthesize other metal/alloy-NCNS/TRGO hybrids with various functions.