Templated Rapeseed-Press-Cake-Based Materials as Efficient Oxygen Reduction Reaction Electrocatalysts

Rapeseed press cake, an inexpensive byproduct of rapeseed oil manufacturing, is used for the preparation of transition-metal-containing nitrogen-doped templated carbon-based catalysts for the electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Dicyandiamide and iron(III) nitrate are used as nitrogen and metal sources, with magnesium acetate serving as a precursor of the hard template. The electrocatalysts exhibit high ORR electrocatalytic activity in rotating disk electrode tests in 0.1 M KOH solution, with activity surpassing that of commercial 20 wt % Pt/C. This increase in the ORR activity may be attributed to improved material morphology; according to nitrogen physisorption analysis, the best catalyst material possesses 20% higher specific surface area and almost 50% larger total volume of pores compared to the untemplated material. The top-performing catalyst showed a promising performance as a cathode material in an anion-exchange membrane fuel cell (AEMFC) test, achieving a maximum power density of 355 mW cm–2.