Pyrolysis of self-assembled hemin on carbon for efficient oxygen reduction reaction

The employment of inexpensive metallomacrocycles to create non-precious metal electrocatalysts (NPMEs) with high performance remains a challenge. Herein, we report the self-assembly of low-cost and abundant hemin on carbon black (EC600) under hydrothermal conditions in combination with subsequent pyrolysis, leading to a new NPME. Our NPME exhibits a half-wave potential of 0.89 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), an onset potential of 1.0 V vs. RHE and an average HO2- yield below 2% as well as high durability toward oxygen reduction reactions (ORR) in alkaline electrolytes, ranking at the top of all reported NPMEs derived from hemin.