Issue 18, 2017

Out-of-plane FeII–N4 moiety modified Fe–N co-doped porous carbons as high-performance electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction

Abstract

Exploring high-performance iron and nitrogen co-doped carbon (Fe–N–C) electrocatalysts with desirable active sites toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is extremely important for future applications of fuel cells and metal–air batteries. Herein, we demonstrate a facile and effective strategy for the synthesis of high-performance Fe–N–C electrocatalysts by pyrolyzing a physical mixture of conventional carbon black (Black Pearls 2000, BP2000) and Hemin followed by a post-treatment procedure including acid-washing and heat-treatment. The resultant Fe–N–C electrocatalysts possessed numerous out-of-plane FeII–N4 moieties (D1 sites) uniformly distributed in the porous carbon matrix, and a well-defined micro/mesoporous structure that is expected to significantly improve the ORR activity in both alkaline and acidic electrolytes. In an alkaline electrolyte, the Fe–N–C electrocatalyst exhibited a remarkable ORR activity with a high onset potential of 0.942 V and a half-wave potential of 0.848 V, which were 9 mV and 12 mV more positive than those of the commercial Pt/C, respectively, while its half-wave potential was 0.73 V, only 60 mV less than that of Pt/C in an acidic electrolyte. Furthermore, the Fe–N–C electrocatalyst also demonstrated better electrochemical durability and methanol tolerance in comparison with Pt/C in both alkaline and acidic electrolytes. This work opens a new avenue for the rational design and synthesis of highly active and durable TM–N–C electrocatalysts towards ORR.

Graphical abstract: Out-of-plane FeII–N4 moiety modified Fe–N co-doped porous carbons as high-performance electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
29 юни 2017
Accepted
01 авг 2017
First published
16 авг 2017

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2017,7, 4017-4023

Out-of-plane FeII–N4 moiety modified Fe–N co-doped porous carbons as high-performance electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction

Z. Qian, Z. Hu, Z. Zhang, Z. Li, M. Dou and F. Wang, Catal. Sci. Technol., 2017, 7, 4017 DOI: 10.1039/C7CY01290J

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