Biomass-derived metal-free porous carbon electrocatalyst for efficient oxygen reduction reactions

For better practical application of renewable energy harvesting/storage and conversion systems, like fuel cells, the creation of cheap and effective catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is essential. Electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reactions that rely on carbon rather than metal exhibit intriguing catalytic activities, high stabilities, and good tolerance for carbon monoxide and methanol. Therefore, they can be good alternatives for Platinum-based catalysts. In this report, nitrogen-doped graphitized carbon-based materials with a huge specific surface area of ∼1563.2 m2/g were created using a simple pyrolysis method. Nitrogen-doped graphitized carbon-based materials as metal-free ORR electrocatalysts exhibited good activity with a number of electron transfer reaching 3.95 and stability exceeding that of conventional Pt/C electrocatalysts in alkaline medium. Excellent ORR performance, ease of preparation, and huge surface area with large N contents all point to the promising potential of the currently fabricated nitrogen-doped graphitized carbon materials in applications ranging from fuel cells to other related technological fields.