Fe species anchored N, S-doped carbon as nonprecious catalyst for boosting oxygen reduction reaction

Abstract

Although metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) derived nonprecious catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) have been intensively investigated, biological metal organic frameworks (Bio-MOF) derived ORR catalysts are rarely explored. Herein, for the first time, Bio-MOF-100 derived Fe species embedded N, S-doped carbon (Fe@NSC) is prepared by a simple solution soaking and pyrolysis. The Fe@NSC catalyst shows superior ORR performance with a large half-wave potential of 0.87 V, excellent methanol resistance, and exceptional long-term durability, which even surpasses the benchmark Pt/C catalyst. The brilliant ORR catalytic activity of Fe@NSC is due to its unique nanoarchitecture: more than one type of active constituents (Fe nanoparticles and Fe-N species) anchored N, S-doped carbon skeleton provides a high intrinsic catalytic activity; the nanoporous carbon matrix with a large specific surface area (1130.97 cm2 g−1) interconnected by in-situ grown carbon nanotubes with high conductivity can not only guarantee excellent mass transfer but also facilitate electron transfer. This research presents an approach to rationally design and facilely synthesize Bio-MOF-based ORR catalyst and demonstrates that Bio-MOF-based ORR catalysts are promising for efficient and stable oxygen reduction.