Rational design of a highly mesoporous Fe–N–C/Fe₃C/C–S–C nanohybrid with dense active sites for superb electrocatalysis of oxygen reduction

Abstract

Innovating efficient and robust electrocatalysts with economic production cost for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is of utmost significance for enhancing the energy efficiency of fuel cells and metal-air batteries....

Engineering an iron atom-cluster nanostructure towards efficient and durable electrocatalysis

“…26 On using Fe and N sources, the carbon peak obviously shifted to a higher 2 θ value (≈26.4°), and the peak intensity became narrower and sharper, demonstrating the high graphitization degree that existed in the samples. 27 The other peak at about 2 θ = 43.3° is related to the plane (101) of graphitic carbon. Besides, the Fe metal peak at about 2 θ = 44.6° (Fe (110), PDF pattern no.…”

“…The excitation of p* at 288.4 eV demonstrates the formation of C-N-C in the carbon lattice. 27 The C 1s / p* C-N-C peak intensity from 800 to 1000 °C exhibits a decrease due to the destruction of N atoms at hightemperature. 39 Contrary to the overlapping peaks investigated by XPS, a broad energy range peak below the ionization potential of N matching to the s* transition and three well-dened peaks corresponding to resonances from 1s into p* orbitals could be seen in N K-edge XANES spectra (Fig.…”

High‐Activity Fe3C as pH‐Universal Electrocatalyst for Boosting Oxygen Reduction Reaction and Zinc‐Air Battery

“…Further, the distinct lattice fringes show up in the high‐resolution TEM (HR‐TEM) image (Figure 2C), with the interplanar spacing distance of 0.201 nm corresponding to the (031) crystal planes of Fe 3 C. [ 12 ] Clearly, the doped Fe 3 C NPs would enhance the contact area, and realize the maximum exposure of the active sites for the interfacial mass transport. [ 13 ]…”

“…Further, the distinct lattice fringes show up in the high-resolution TEM (HR-TEM) image (Figure 2C), with the interplanar spacing distance of 0.201 nm corresponding to the (031) crystal planes of Fe 3 C. [12] Clearly, the doped Fe 3 C NPs would enhance the contact area, and realize the maximum exposure of the active sites for the interfacial mass transport. [13] Impressively, many carbon holes emerge after the acid treatment (Figure 2C, labeled by the yellow circle), owing to the efficient removal of the Fe 3 C particles. Figure 2D clearly illustrates the embedded Fe 3 C NPs in the carbon nanosheets, in which the interplanar distance of 0.21 nm corresponds to the (211) planes of Fe 3 C, while that of 0.34 nm is attributed to the (002) facets of graphitic carbon.…”

2D Single-Atom Fe–N–C Catalyst Derived from a Layered Complex as an Oxygen Reduction Catalyst for PEMFCs

“…In Figure d, the pore size distribution curves of the three samples are also observed to be similar except for the large volume of micropores of FNC1/5, which are characterized as the hierarchical porous structure dominated by micropores. A large number of micropores (1–2 nm) provide more active sites, and the existence of mesopores (2–10 nm) is conducive to mass transport . Detailed pore volume data are shown in Table S1.…”