Facile One-Pot Synthesis\nof Silicon Carbide-Carbon\nSupported Gold Nanoparticles (Au/SiC-C) as a Durable Electrocatalyst\nfor Electrochemical Oxygen Reduction Reaction

This study presents a simple one-pot method to synthesize\ngold\nnanoparticles supported on a silicon carbide-carbon nanocomposite\n(Au/SiC-C) as an efficient electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction\nreaction (ORR) in an alkaline medium. The SiC-C support was prepared\nby carbothermal reduction of an iminosilane-resorcinol (ISR) composite,\nformed by the reaction of 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (APTES) with\nacetone and resorcinol. During ISR formation, the Au precursor was\nincorporated to produce ISR-supported gold nanoparticles (Au/ISR),\nwhich were subsequently transformed into Au/SiC-C. Here, imine groups\nin ISR served as reducing agents, eliminating the need for conventional\nreducing agents to convert Au<sup>3+</sup> ions to Au nanoparticles.\nThe formation of Au/ISR and Au/SiC-C was confirmed by using X-ray\ndiffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Raman\nspectroscopy. The Au/SiC-C catalyst exhibited effective ORR activity\nunder alkaline conditions, achieving direct 4e<sup>–</sup> transfer\nwith minimal H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> production.