Abstract
The development of effective transition metal oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts performing well in alkaline environments remains challenging. In this study, ordered macroporous ZIF-8 @C supports were prepared via carbonization using polystyrene microspheres as templates, and transition metal oxygen reduction catalysts (M-Nx/OMC; M = Fe, Co, and Mn) were prepared by loading metalloporphyrins and carbonization. Among the catalysts prepared, Fe-Nx/OMC exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity under alkaline conditions, the half-wave (0.911 V) and initial (0.960 V) potentials are 80 and 60 mV higher than that of Pt/C respectively. In addition, the specific capacity of the zinc–air battery (ZAB) catalyzed by Fe-Nx/OMC reached 751 mAh g−1, which is 84 mAh g−1 higher than that of the ZAB catalyzed by Pt/C. The superior catalytic ORR activity is attributed to the hierarchical porous structure, which may have more exposed active centers in the carbon materials and improved mass-transfer efficiency. This study offers a new method for preparing high-performance carbon-based metal–organic framework electrocatalysts.
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