Fe and N Co‐doped Carbons Derived from an Ionic Liquid as Active Bifunctional Oxygen Catalysts

Abstract A high‐performance electrocatalyst that could effectively catalyze the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is required in important energy conversion devices such as metal–air batteries. Herein, we report the template‐free synthesis of a Fe and N co‐doped carbon catalyst, using a novel ionic liquid as the precursor. The Fe−N−C catalyst prepared at 800 °C exhibits comparable ORR performance but significantly improved OER activity compared to the commercial Pt/C catalyst as well as good stability. We demonstrate that the excellent performance of the catalyst is caused by its high heteroatom content, large surface area, and high degree of graphitization.