Synthesis of Mesoporous Fe/N/C Electrocatalyst for Improved Oxygen Reduction Reaction Activity Through CO₂‐Assisted Pyrolysis

Abstract

Fe/Nx/C electrocatalysts have appeared as one of the promising non‐platinum group metal (non‐PGM) electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in energy conversion devices. These non‐PGM electrocatalysts Fe/N/C need structural tuning of pores to improve the surface area for high‐performance ORR in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. In this report, the specific surface area of poly‐melamine‐formaldehyde (PMF)‐based Fe/N/C electrocatalysts was enhanced without using a template through simple CO2‐assisted pyrolysis. The highly porous electrocatalyst exhibited an onion‐like graphitic structure and an efficient catalytic activity for ORR, comparable to Pt/C electrocatalyst. At 0.95 VRHE, the mass activity of the PMF‐based PMF−Fe/N/C‐CO2/Ar electrocatalyst was 63 % that of a commercial Pt/C electrocatalyst. Moreover, the devised fabrication process for the PMF−Fe/N/C electrocatalysts with a high specific surface area can be readily scaled up.

Recent Progress and Outlook of Metal–Organic Framework Materials Used for CO2 Electrocatalytic Reduction

“…Therefore, in order to achieve high energy conversion efficiency, the reaction system must have high product selectivity and low reaction potential. Therefore, the research of high efficient electrocatalyst is very important. − …”