CoSe 2 Supported on Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Nanohorns as a Methanol‐Tolerant Cathode for Air‐Breathing Microlaminar Flow Fuel Cells

The synthesis of CoSe 2 nanoparticles supported on nitrogen‐doped carbon nanohorns (CoSe 2 /NCNH) and the influence of the interaction of the metal centre with the NCNH on the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are reported. CoSe 2 /NCNH shows a 50 mV lower onset overpotential and a 150 mV positive shift in the half‐wave potential compared to CoSe 2 supported on carbon and carbon nanohorns. This suggests that the intrinsic activity and the density of active reaction centres of CoSe 2 are modified by NCNHs. An air‐breathing direct methanol microlaminar flow fuel cell (μLFFC) is constructed using CoSe 2 /NCNH as a methanol‐tolerant cathode catalyst. A maximum power density of 10.05 mW cm −2 and a maximum current density of 124.20 mA cm −2 are achieved with CoSe 2 /NCNH compared to the non‐doped catalyst, CoSe 2 /C and Pt/C with 5  M methanol as the fuel. The improved activity of CoSe 2 /NCNH is attributed to the peculiar morphology and the nitrogen doping of the carbon nanohorns. This catalyst could be a suitable alternative to Pt.