Gelatin-Derived 1D Carbon Nanofiber Architecture with Simultaneous Decoration of Single Fe-Nx Sites and Fe/Fe3 C Nanoparticles for Efficient Oxygen Reduction.

Abstract

Exploring high-performance non-precious-metal electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is critical. Herein, a scalable and cost-effective strategy is reported for the construction of one-dimensional carbon nanofiber architectures with simultaneous decoration of single Fe-Nx sites and highly dispersed Fe/Fe3 C nanoparticles for efficient ORR, through the FeIII -complex-assisted electrospinning of gelatin nanofibers with subsequent pre-oxidation and carbonization. Results show that the presence of a FeIII complex enables the 1D gelatin nanofibers to be well retained during the pre-oxidation process. Owing to the distinct 1D nanofiber structure and the synergistic effect of Fe/Fe3 C and Fe-Nx sites, the resulting electrocatalyst is highly active for ORR with a half-wave potential of 0.885 V (outperforming commercial Pt/C) and a superior electrochemical stability in alkaline electrolytes. Similarly, it also shows a high power density (144.7 mW cm-2 ) and a superior stability in Zn-air batteries. This work opens a path for the design and synthesis of 1D carbon electrocatalyst for efficient ORR catalysis.