Mesoporous fluorine-doped carbon as efficient cathode material for oxygen reduction reaction

Abstract

Fluorine-doped mesoporous carbons (F/Cs) were prepared by a simple hard-template method. The pyrolysis of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) supported on SBA-15 silica at high temperatures resulted in the formation of mesoporous structures with graphitic pore walls. The F/Cs obtained at 1000°C possessed a surface area of 504m2g−1 and a pore size distribution centered at 6.7nm. Such F/Cs exhibited a comparable catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) to that of commercial platinum/carbon (Pt/C) catalysts and better stability and methanol-tolerance in alkaline solutions.