Three-dimensional porous metal-nitrogen doped carbon nanostructure as a superior non-precious electrocatalyst in oxygen reduction reaction

Journal article

We report the porous transition metal-nitrogen doped carbon nanostructures as cathode catalysts using a well-stacked arrangement of template materials in the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone as nitrogen and carbon sources and metal phthalocyanine as metal and nitrogen sources. The as-prepared nanostructures show high specific surface areas (105.73-228.13 m^2 g^-1), porous structure, and doped metal and nitrogen species (pyridinic-N, pyrrolic-N, and graphitic-N) into carbon structures. In particular, the porous Fe-N-doped carbon nanostructure exhibits excellent ORR electrocatalytic properties in alkaline electrolyte; i.e., electron transfer number close to 4, high halfwave potential (0.81 V), improved electrochemical stability (a slight decrease of ~31 mV in the half-wave potential after the stability test), and methanol tolerance.

Authors: Sohn, J; Lee, Y; Lee, S; Kwak, D; Lee, J

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Journal: Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
• Volume: 43
• Pages: 170–176
• Publication date: 2016-08-01
• Acceptance date: 2016-08-03
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jiec.2016.08.004
• ISSN: 1226-086X
• Keywords: Porous carbon; Transition metal; Nitrogen; Oxygen reducation reaction; Electrocatalyst