Ultra-high-performance doped carbon catalyst derived from o-phenylenediamine and the probable roles of Fe and melamine.

Highlights: [•] Doped carbon catalyst Fe/oPD–Mela was prepared by pyrolyzing a hybrid precursor. [•] The catalyst shows graphene-like structure with high surface area up to 384m2 g−1. [•] The catalyst exhibits superior ORR activity to commercial Pt/C in alkaline medium. [•] The high performance of the catalyst may be caused by its high active N content. [•] ORR reaction changed from the 2e− process to the 4e− process by adding melamine. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]