N-doped La2Zr2O7 as an enhanced electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

•Nitrogen was doped into La2Zr2O7 nanoparticles by the sol-gel process combined with ammonolysis.•The ORR activity of N-doped La2Zr2O7 is considerably enhanced.•Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that the band gap was reduced in N-doped La2Zr2O7.

Nitrogen shows a positive influence on the ORR activity of certain catalysts, such as N-doped carbon and N-doped ZrO2. In this paper, we report a method to dope nitrogen into La2Zr2O7 nanoparticles by the sol-gel process combined with ammonolysis. XPS results indicate that the nitrogen content in La2Zr2O7 is approximately 0.92 at.%. Compared to the ORR activity of La2Zr2O7, ORR activity of the N-doped La2Zr2O7 is considerably enhanced. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that the band gap is reduced in N-doped La2Zr2O7, which may be one of the factors that contribute to the improvement.