Recent Progress in MOF‐Derived, Heteroatom‐Doped Porous Carbons as Highly Efficient Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Fuel Cells

Abstract

AbstractCurrently, developing nonprecious‐metal catalysts to replace Pt‐based electrocatalysts in fuel cells has become a hot topic because the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in fuel cells often requires platinum, a precious metal, as a catalyst, which is one of the major hurdles for commercialization of the fuel cells. Recently, the newly emerging metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) have been widely used as self‐sacrificed precursors/templates to fabricate heteroatom‐doped porous carbons. Here, the recent progress of MOF‐derived, heteroatom‐doped porous carbon catalysts for ORR in fuel cells is systematically reviewed, and the synthesis strategies for using different MOF precursors to prepare heteroatom‐doped porous carbon catalysts, including the direct carbonization of MOFs, MOF and heteroatom source mixture carbonization, and MOF‐based composite carbonization are summarized. The emphasis is placed on the precursor design of MOF‐derived metal‐free catalysts and transition‐metal‐doped carbon catalysts because the MOF precursors often determine the microstructures of the derived porous carbon catalysts. The discussion provides a useful strategy for in situ synthesis of heteroatom‐doped carbon ORR electrocatalysts by rationally designing MOF precursors. Due to the versatility of MOF structures, MOF‐derived porous carbons not only provide chances to develop highly efficient ORR electrocatalysts, but also broaden the family of nanoporous carbons for applications in supercapacitors and batteries.