Abstract:
Oxygen reduction (ORR) and evolution reactions are involved in oxygen electrochemistry. It is critical for ORR to produce highly effective non-noble metal catalysts to enhance the slower reaction kinetics. Today's research is focused on highly efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in fuel cells with minimal or negligible Pt use. A Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework (ZIF)-derived catalyst has been developed for fuel cell applications that can provide a hollow framework of nitrogen doped nanoporous carbon with excellent ORR activity. Here we report the synthesis of FeNi bimetallic electrocatalyst derived from zeolitic imidazole frameworks (ZIFs), FeNi nanoalloys embedded in N-doped carbon (FeNi-NC) containing carbon nanotubes and porous carbon exhibits superior performance for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The FeNi-NC showed remarkable performance in KOH with the onset and half wave potential of 0.99 V and 0.89 V vs RHE, respectively. This catalyst shows superior methanol tolerance against commercial platinum (Pt/C). The excellent activity and stability can be ascribed to the interaction between FeNi active sites and N-doped carbon, the unique nanostructure composed of porous carbon and carbon nanotubes with a high graphitization degree.
