Understanding the active sites of Fe-N-C materials and their properties in the ORR catalysis system

An 'active site anchoring' strategy for the preparation of PBO fiber derived carbon catalyst towards an efficient oxygen reduction reaction and zinc-air batteries

In order to promote the wide application of clean energy-fuel cells, it is urgent to develop transition metal-based high-efficiency oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalytic materials with a low cost and available rich raw material resources to replace the currently used precious metal platinum-based catalytic materials. Herein, a novel 'active-site-anchoring' strategy was developed to synthesize highly-activated carbon-based ORR catalysts. Firstly, poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) (PBO) fiber with a stable chemical structure was selected as the main precursor, and iron was complexed on its surface, and then poly-dopamine (PDA) was coated on the surface of PBO-Fe to form a PBO-Fe-PDA composite structure. Therefore, carbon-based catalyst PBO-Fe-PDA-900 with abundant Fe2O3 active sites was prepared by anchoring iron sites by PDA after pyrolysis. As a result, the PBO-Fe-PDA-900 catalyst displayed a 30 mV higher half-wave potential (0.86 V) than that of a commercial Pt/C electrocatalyst. Finally, PBO-Fe-PDA-900 was used as a cathode material for zinc-air batteries, showing a high peak power density superior to Pt/C. This work offers new prospects for the design of efficient, non-precious metal-based materials in zinc-air batteries.

Efficient yolk-shelled Fe-N-C oxygen reduction electrocatalyst via N-rich molecular-guided pyrolysis

Fe-N-C catalysts with highly dispersed metal active centers were developed as promising non-precious metal materials for acidic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysis. However, such kind of novel catalysts still suffer from major challenges in the manipulation of dispersion, utilization, and stability of the Fe-based metal centers. Herein, a N-rich molecular dual-guided pyrolysis strategy was proposed to develop an efficient yolk-shelled Fe-N-C ORR electrocatalyst. A unique yolk-shelled nanostructure with a relatively ordered shell and disordered yolk of a carbon skeleton was controllably constructed via this guided-pyrolysis route from the precursor of Fe-doped zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (Fe-ZIF-8). Moreover, the atomic-level dispersion of Fe element in the carbon skeleton could be achieved via the dual guidance from phenanthroline and melamine molecules. The optimized Fe-N-C catalyst demonstrated a half-wave potential of 0.78 V vs. RHE in acid media, close to commercial 30% Pt/C, along with a small negative shift of 19 mV after an accelerated durability test. These enhanced electrocatalytic properties could be attributed to the preferred transformation of the Fe precursors to atomically dispersed Fe-Nx active configurations, as well as the enhanced three-phased interfacial reaction kinetics.

Synthesis of hierarchically structured Fe3C/CNTs composites in a FeNC matrix for use as efficient ORR electrocatalysts

Fe-N-C has a high number of FeN _x active sites and has thus been regarded as a high-performance oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst, and combining Fe₃C with Fe-N-C typically boosts ORR activity. However, the catalytic mechanism remains unknown, limiting further research and development. In this study, a precipitation-solvothermal process was used in conjunction with pyrolysis to produce a series of Fe-N-C catalysts derived from a zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) that was composited with Fe₃C. The prepared catalysts had a multiscale structure of ZIF-like carbon particles and rod-like structures, as well as bamboo-like carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and carbon layers wrapped with Fe₃C particles while a series of studies revealed the origin of the rod-like structures and Fe₃C phase. The hierarchical structure was beneficial to the enhanced electrocatalytic performance of catalysts for ORR. The optimal sample had the highest half-wave potential of 0.878 V vs. RHE, which was higher than that of commercial Pt/C (0.861 V vs. RHE). The ECSA of the optimal sample was 1.08 cm² μg^-1, with an electron transfer number close to 4, and functioning kinetics. The optimal sample exhibited high durability and methanol tolerance for the ORR. Finally, blocking different Fe active sites with coordination ions demonstrated that Fe(ii) was the main active site, indicating that Fe₃C primarily served as a cocatalyst to optimize the electron structure of Fe-N-C, thereby synergistically improving the ORR activity.

Electrocatalytic Oxygen Reduction Reaction by the Pd/Fe-N-C Catalyst and Application in a Zn–Air Battery

Developing a non-platinum catalyst that effectively catalyzes the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is highly significant for metal–air batteries. Metal and nitrogen co-doped carbons (M-N-Cs) have emerged as alternative candidates to platinum. In this work, dual-metal Pd/Fe-N-C electrocatalysts were synthesized by the one-step pyrolysis of phytic acid, melamine, and Pd/Fe-based salts. The Pd/Fe-N-C catalyst exhibited a good catalytic ability during the ORR process and outperformed the commercial Pt/C catalyst as regards mass activity, catalytic stability, and methanol tolerance. It was found that Pd-Nx is the active center, and the synergistic effect from the Fe component introduction endowed the Pd/Fe-N-C with an excellent catalytic performance towards the ORR. When assembled into a Zn–air battery, its specific capacity was ~775 mAh gZn−1. Meanwhile, the peak power density could reach 3.85 W mgPd−1, i.e., 3.4 times that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst (1.13 W mgPt−1). This implies that the Pd/Fe-N-C catalyst has potential applications in metal–air batteries.