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The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is essential in many life processes and energy conversion systems. It is desirable to design transition metal molecular catalysts inspired by enzymatic oxygen activation/reduction processes as an alternative to noble-metal-Pt-based ORR electrocatalysts, especially in view point of fuel cell commercialization. We have fabricated bio-inspired molecular catalysts electrografted onto multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in which 5,10,15,20-tetra(pentafluorophenyl) iron porphyrin (iron porphyrin FeF 20 TPP) is coordinated with covalently electrografted axial ligands varying from thiophene to imidazole on the MWCNTs' surface. The catalysts' electrocatalytic activity varied with the axial coordination environment (i. e., S-thiophene, N-imidazole, and O-carboxylate); the imidazole-coordinated catalyst MWCNTs-Im-FeF 20 TPP exhibited the highest ORR activity among the prepared catalysts. When MWCNT-Im-FeF 20 TPP was loaded onto the cathode of a zinc-air battery, an open-cell voltage (OCV) of 1.35 V and a maximum power density (P max ) of 110 mW cm -2 were achieved; this was higher than those of MWCNTs-Thi-FeF 20 TPP (OCV=1.30 V, P max =100 mW cm -2 ) and MWCNTs-Ox-FeF 20 TPP (OCV=1.28 V, P max =86 mW cm -2 ) and comparable with a commercial Pt/C catalyst (OCV=1.45 V, P max =120 mW cm -2 ) under similar experimental conditions. This study provides a time-saving method to prepare covalently immobilized molecular electrocatalysts on carbon-based materials with structure-performance correlation that is also applicable to the design of other electrografted catalysts for energy conversion., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is one of the most important reactions in life processes and energy conversion systems. To alleviate global warming and the energy crisis, the development of high-performance electrocatalysts for the ORR for application in energy conversion and storage devices such as metal-air batteries and fuel cells is highly desirable. Inspired by the biological oxygen activation/reduction process associated with heme- and multicopper-containing metalloenzymes, iron and copper-based transition-metal complexes have been extensively explored as ORR electrocatalysts. Herein, an outline into recent progress on non-precious-metal electrocatalysts for the ORR is provided; these electrocatalysts do not require pyrolysis treatment, which is regarded as desirable from the viewpoint of bioinspired molecular catalyst design, focusing on iron/cobalt macrocycles (porphyrins, phthalocyanines, and corroles) and copper complexes in which the ORR activity is tuned by ligand variation/substitution, the method of catalyst immobilization, and the underlying supporting materials. Current challenges and exciting imminent developments in bioinspired ORR electrocatalysts are summarized and proposed., (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

The sluggish kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the cathodes of fuel cells significantly hampers fuel cell performance. Therefore, the development of high-performance, non-precious-metal catalysts as alternatives to noble metal Pt-based ORR electrocatalysts is highly desirable for the large-scale commercialization of fuel cells. TiO2 -grafted copper complexes deposited on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) form stable and efficient electrocatalysts for the ORR. The optimized catalyst composite CNTs@TiO2 -ZA-[Cu(phen${{^{{\rm NO}{_{2}}}}}$)(BTC)] shows surprisingly high selectivity for the 4 e(-) reduction of O2 to water (approximately 97 %) in alkaline solution with an onset potential of 0.988 V vs. RHE, and demonstrates superior stability and excellent tolerance for the methanol crossover effect in comparison to a commercial Pt/C catalyst. The copper complexes were grafted onto the surface of TiO2 through coordination of an imidazole-containing ligand, zoledronic acid (ZA), which binds to TiO2 through its bis-phosphoric acid anchoring group. Rational optimization of the copper catalyst's ORR performance was achieved by using an electron-deficient ligand, 5-nitro-1,10-phenanthroline (phen${{^{{\rm NO}{_{2}}}}}$), and bridging benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate (BTC). This facile approach to the assembly of copper catalysts on TiO2 with rationally tuned ORR activity will have significant implications for the development of high-performance, non-precious-metal ORR catalysts., (© 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is one of the most important reactions in both life processes and energy conversion systems. The replacement of noble-metal Pt-based ORR electrocatalysts by nonprecious-metal catalysts is crucial for the large-scale commercialization of automotive fuel cells. Inspired by the mechanisms of dioxygen activation by metalloenzymes, herein we report a structurally well-defined, bio-inspired ORR catalyst that consists of a biomimetic model compound-an axial imidazole-coordinated porphyrin-covalently attached to multiwalled carbon nanotubes. Without pyrolysis, this bio-inspired electrocatalyst demonstrates superior ORR activity and stability compared to those of the state-of-the-art Pt/C catalyst in both acidic and alkaline solutions, thus making it a promising alternative as an ORR electrocatalyst for application in fuel-cell technology., (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)