<i>In Situ</i> Self-Sacrificed Template Synthesis of Fe-N/G Catalysts for Enhanced Oxygen Reduction

Abstract

To facilely prepare high-performance Fe-N/G oxygen reduction catalysts via a simple and controllable route from available and low-cost materials is still a challenge. Herein, we develop an <i>in situ</i> self-sacrificed template strategy to synthesize Fe-N/G catalysts from melamine, glucose, and FeSO₄·7H₂O. Fe/Fe₃C@graphitic carbon nanocapsules are uniformly formed on the NG surface to create a highly opened and stable mesoporous framework structure. Furthermore, effectively doped N sites and high active Fe-N_<i>x</i> sites are synchronously constructed on such structures, leading to an enhanced synergistic effect for ORR and promising the Fe-N/G catalyst a similar catalytic activity and four-electron selectivity, but superior stability to commercial 30 wt % Pt/C catalysts in 0.1 M KOH solution under the same loading