Fe–N Co-doped Porous Carbon Derived from Ionic\nLiquids as an Efficient Electrocatalyst for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Abstract

Development of efficient catalysts\nwith low cost for the oxygen\nreduction reaction (ORR) plays an important role in the commercialization\nof fuel cells. Herein, we reported a facile method to synthesize Fe–N\nco-doped porous carbon (Fe–N/C) by using green media ionic\nliquids 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrachloridoferrate ([Bmim]­[FeCl₄]) as precursor of C, N, and Fe, and spherical silica as a\ntemplate through one-step pyrolysis. Electrochemical measurements\nshow that Fe–N/C⁸⁰⁰ possesses excellent ORR catalytic\nactivity. The onset potential and half-wave potential are 0.964 and\n0.821 V, respectively, which is close to those on the commercial Pt/C\ncatalyst. Moreover, it exhibits better methanol tolerance and durability\nin comparison with the Pt/C catalyst. Good performance of Fe–N/C⁸⁰⁰ in ORR is attributed to its abundant porous structure,\nlarge BET surface area, and the synergism of Fe and N dopants.