Although the Co and N co-doped carbon catalyst (Co-NC) has attracted much attention because of its low cost and the natural abundance of the dopants, it has a low oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity and a high selectivity for the two-electron (2e^-) reduction of oxygen to H₂O₂, which affects its use in fuel cells. Co-NC catalysts were prepared by the pyrolysis of a mixture of cobalt chloride and chitosan pretreated with zinc chloride at 650, 750 and 850 ^oC, followed by washing with nitric acid and annealing at 900 ^oC. The results indicate that zinc chloride helps the complexing of chitosan with Co²⁺, which is also a chemical activator that generates pores, and annealing caused the evaporation of the spherical Zn metal nanoparticles formed by the carbothermal reduction of Zn ions, leading to a unique porous structure of the catalysts with spherical pores filled with spherical carbon nanoparticles formed by the growth of nitrogen-doped carbon as a result of the Co catalyst. The degree of graphitization is also improved by the Co catalyst. The Co-NC catalyst obtained at a pyrolysis temperature of 750 ^oCshows the same four-electron (4e^-) reduction of oxygen as a commercial Pt/C catalyst, and a significantly higher ORR catalytic activity, longer-term stability and better methanol tolerance than a commercial Pt/C catalyst. These are due to its large specific surface area, high contents of pyridinic nitrogen and graphitic nitrogen that disperse the Co species and its excellent electrical conductivity.

尽管Co和N共掺杂碳催化剂（Co-NC）由于其成本低和掺杂剂的自然丰度而备受关注，但它具有较低的氧还原反应（ORR）活性和对这两种催化剂的高选择性π电子（2E ^- ）氧还原成H ₂ ö ₂，这会影响燃料电池中的使用。助NC催化剂通过的混合物的热解制备的氯化钴和壳聚糖预处理氯化锌在650，750和850 ^ö C，接着用在900硝酸和退火洗涤^ö C.结果表明，氯化锌有助于壳聚糖与Co ²⁺的络合，它也是产生孔的化学活化剂，退火导致通过碳热还原Zn离子形成的球形Zn金属纳米颗粒的蒸发，从而导致催化剂的独特多孔结构，其中球形孔填充了由碳形成的球形碳纳米颗粒。 Co催化剂的作用是氮掺杂碳的生长。钴催化剂还改善了石墨化程度。在750热解温度得到的共NC催化剂^ö Cshows同一四电子（4E ^-）作为商用Pt / C催化剂还原氧气，并且比商用Pt / C催化剂具有更高的ORR催化活性，长期稳定性和更好的甲醇耐受性。这归因于其大的比表面积，分散Co物种的高含量的吡啶氮和石墨氮以及出色的导电性。