Fe–N-Doped Mesoporous Carbon with Dual Active Sites Loaded on Reduced Graphene Oxides for Efficient Oxygen Reduction Catalysts

• Published in: ACS applied materials & interfaces Vol. 10; no. 3; pp. 2423 - 2429
• Main Authors: Zhang, Chao, Liu, Jun, Ye, Yixing, Aslam, Zabeada, Brydson, Rik, Liang, Changhao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 24.01.2018
• Subjects: porous carbon; dual active sites; Fe−N−C catalyst; oxygen reduction reaction; electrocatalysis
• ISSN: 1944-8244; 1944-8252
• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b14443

Transition metal/nitrogen/carbon (M-N/C) catalysts are considered as one of the most promising candidates to replace Pt/C catalysts for oxygen reduction reactions (ORRs). Here, we have designed novel reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-supported Fe–N-doped carbon (Fe–N–C/rGO) catalysts via simple pyrolysis of polypyrrole (Ppy)–FeO–GO composites. The as-prepared catalysts induced an onset potential of 0.94 V and a half-wave potential of 0.81 V in alkaline solutions, which is much better than those of the counterpart N–C and N–C/rGO catalysts and comparable to that of Pt/C catalysts. Moreover, the Fe–N–C/rGO catalysts showed improved durability and higher tolerance against methanol crossover than Pt/C in alkaline solutions. This superior ORR performance can be ascribed to the combined catalytic effect of both Fe-based nanoparticles (Fe3O4, Fe4C) and Fe–N x sites, as well as fast mass transfer and accessible active sites benefiting from the mesoporous structure and high specific surface area. This work provides new insight for synthesis of a more promising nonplatinum electrocatalyst for metal–air batteries and fuel-cell applications.