Novel highly active and selective Co N S C efficient ORR catalyst derived from in-situ egg gel pyrolysis

• NSEC as platform for in-situ embed Co for ORR. • Co-NSEC displays competitive catalytic activity for O 2 reduction compared to Pt/C. • It is high poisoning tolerance and durability compared to commercial Pt/C catalyst. Exploring the influence of various heteroatoms on M N x C and developing novel synthetic M N C of strategies are great significance to improve the efficiency of continuable energy transformation and storage technologies. In this work, an economic and environmental in-situ doping synthesis scheme for extensible synthesis Co, N and S doped multiple porous-structure carbon (Co-NSEC) using egg gel as carbon precursor was reported. The Co-NSEC were certified to possess multiple porous structure, large surface area and uniform Co distribution. Moreover, systematic characterization results and electrochemical study revealed that thiophene sulfur could enhance Co-Nx oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalytic ability. The Co-NSEC catalysts exhibit excellent ORR performance akin to Pt/C (onset potential 0.947 V vs RHE, half-wave potential 0.842 V vs RHE, limiting current density 5.70 mA cm −2 ) and better alcohol resistance and durability in alkaline solutions. The Co-NSEC electrocatalysts are promising as Pt replacement and are desired to be applied in the aspect of fuel cells.