Hierarchical porous nitrogen-doped carbon material with Fe-NX as an excellent electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

Hydrolysis of ZIF-8 in water becomes a key barrier to improving the electrochemical performance of ZIF-derived catalysts. In this paper, dopamine is used to inhibit ZIF-8 hydrolysis. The obtained Fe0.1-NC NPs catalysts exhibit excellent electrochemical activity with a half-wave potential of 0.834 V in 0.1 M KOH electrolyte and satisfactory stability and methanol tolerance. Physical and chemical characterizations suggest that its excellent electrochemical performance is ascribed to the hierarchical porous structure and the synergistic effect of Fe-NX active sites and Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The synthesis solvent of the catalysts is aqueous solution, which provides the possibility for large-scale production.