Issue 35, 2019

Hierarchically porous carbons as supports for fuel cell electrocatalysts with atomically dispersed Fe–Nx moieties

Abstract

The development of high-performance non-platinum group metal (non-PGM) catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is still of significance in promoting the commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). In this work, a “hierarchically porous carbon (HPC)-supporting” approach was developed to synthesize highly ORR active Fe–phenanthroline (Fe–phen) derived Fe–Nx–C catalysts. Compared to commercial carbon black supports, utilizing HPCs as carbon supports can not only prevent the formation of inactive iron nanoparticles during pyrolysis but also optimize the porous morphology of the catalysts, which eventually increases the amount of reactant-accessible and atomically dispersed Fe–Nx active sites. The prepared catalyst therefore exhibits a remarkable ORR activity in both half-cells (half-wave potential of 0.80 V in 0.5 M H2SO4) and H2–air PEMFCs (442 mA cm−2 at a working voltage of 0.6 V), making it among the best non-PGM catalysts for PEMFCs.

Graphical abstract: Hierarchically porous carbons as supports for fuel cell electrocatalysts with atomically dispersed Fe–Nx moieties

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
08 3 2019
Accepted
22 7 2019
First published
22 7 2019
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2019,10, 8236-8240

Hierarchically porous carbons as supports for fuel cell electrocatalysts with atomically dispersed Fe–Nx moieties

L. Tong, Y. Wang, M. Chen, Z. Chen, Q. Yan, C. Yang, Z. Zhou, S. Chu, X. Feng and H. Liang, Chem. Sci., 2019, 10, 8236 DOI: 10.1039/C9SC01154D

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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