Biomass wood-derived efficient Fe-N-C catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction

Efficient and low-cost electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) were the key for scalable application of metal-air batteries and fuel cells. Herein, iron-based nitrogen-doped carbon catalysts (Fe-N-C-wood) were prepared, using hydrothermal-pyrolysis-treated wood-derived nitrogen-doped carbon as the support. This support possessed large specific surface area and macro-meso-micro hierarchical porous networks, ensuring fluent mass transfer of electrolyte and oxygen species. In the ORR electrochemical test, Fe-N-C-wood catalyst showed an excellent activity, with a half-wave potential of 0.90 V in 0.1 M KOH, and a half-wave potential of 0.70 V in 0.1 M HClO4. Moreover, durability tests illustrated that Fe-N-C-wood possessed high stability and methanol tolerance. The Fe-N-C-wood-based Zn-air battery delivered a peak power density of 231 mW cm(-2), suggesting its potential applications in sustainable energy conversion systems.