Synthesis of Mesoporous Fe N/C Materials with High Catalytic Performance in the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

The tedious and costly route of the general nanocasting method hinders the commercial application of mesoporous non-precious metal catalysts based on transition metal-coordinating nitrogen-doped carbons (M N/C). Here, a simple, economic and sustainable hydrothermal carbonization (HTC)/soft templating method is demonstrated for the direct preparation of mesoporous Fe N/C materials (Fe N/MC). By this method, Fe N/MC materials with high specific surface area, hierarchically mesoporous structure, and appropriate iron and nitrogen contents are prepared. The optimized Fe N/MC materials exhibit superior catalytic performance in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) to commercial Pt/C in 0.1 M KOH. This confirms that the materials are one of the most efficient non-precious metal catalysts for the ORR in alkaline electrolyte. In addition, considerable durability and ORR activity are demonstrated by the Fe N/MC materials in 0.1 M HClO₄. Thus, this HTC/soft templating method has great promise for the practical application of this kind of non-precious metal catalysts in the ORR. Taking the soft option: A simple and economic hydrothermal carbonization/soft templating method is proposed to synthesize mesoporous Fe N/C materials from carbohydrates in the presence of ferric sulfate and solid melamine sulfate. The optimized materials are highly efficient in catalyzing the oxygen reduction reaction. This method opens an avenue for the practical application of Fe N/C materials in the oxygen reduction reaction.