Ordered Mesoporous Fe-Nx/C Materials as Highly Efficient Self-supporting Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction

A new mesostructured non-precious-metal catalyst (NPMC) was easily created using a straightforward nanocasting technique with 1,10-phenanthroline iron chelates as the sole precursor. The resulting Fe-Nx/C material, characterized by its Hexagonal mesostructures with an ordered arrangement, Extensive surface extent, expansive pore structure, and evenly Scattered Fe-Nx groups within Graphite-like carbon structures, Established to be an remarkable self-supporting cathode catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). It demonstrated superior specific oxygen reduction activity in 0.1M KOH alkaline solution compared to commercial Pt/C catalysts (20wt%Pt, JM), showing a more positive onset potential (0.0V vs Ag/AgCl), approximately 1.7 times the kinetic-limiting current density of Pt-C-JM, and higher current density across the entire potential range. Additionally, it exhibited an onset potential of 0.93V (vs RHE) for ORR and about 1.3 times the current density at 0.6V (4.9mA cm-2) compared to the best NPMC materials reported in the literature, with a catalyst loading of 0.6mg cm-2 in 0.5M H2SO4 media (approximately 3.8mA cm-2).