Synergistic incorporation of hybrid heterobimetal–nitrogen atoms into carbon structures for superior oxygen electroreduction performance

Abstract

Although Pt-based catalytic technology has led to significant advances in the development of electrocatalysts in fuel cells, Pt replacement with efficient and stable non-precious metal catalysts has a great technological significance for successful large-scale implementation of fuel cells. Here, we present the development of hybrid functional 1-dimensional carbon structures incorporated homogeneously with high contents of non-precious metal multi-dopants, consisting of iron, cobalt and nitrogen, as a promising alternative to Pt-based catalysts for the cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) through a modified electrospinning technique. These hybrid heterobimetal–nitrogen-incorporated carbon structures exhibit superior ORR electrocatalytic properties i.e., more positive reduction potential, high electroreduction current density, high electron transfer value (∼3.87) close to the perfect ORR and improved electrochemical stability with a very small decrease of ∼8 mV in half-wave potential. The observed enhancement in electrochemical performance can be ascribed to the increased amount of catalytically active sites with relatively high contents of heterometallic iron and cobalt atoms surrounded by nitrogen species and their homogeneous distribution on the catalyst surface.