Highly active oxygen reduction non-platinum group metal electrocatalyst without direct metal–nitrogen coordination

Kara Strickland, Elise Miner, Qingying Jia, Urszula Tylus, Nagappan Ramaswamy, Wentao Liang, Moulay-Tahar Sougrati, Frédéric Jaouen and Sanjeev Mukerjee ()
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Kara Strickland: Northeastern University Center for Renewable Energy Technology, Northeastern University
Elise Miner: Northeastern University Center for Renewable Energy Technology, Northeastern University
Qingying Jia: Northeastern University Center for Renewable Energy Technology, Northeastern University
Urszula Tylus: Northeastern University Center for Renewable Energy Technology, Northeastern University
Nagappan Ramaswamy: Northeastern University Center for Renewable Energy Technology, Northeastern University
Wentao Liang: Northeastern University
Moulay-Tahar Sougrati: Institut Charles Gerhardt de Montpellier—UMR 5253
Frédéric Jaouen: Institut Charles Gerhardt de Montpellier—UMR 5253
Sanjeev Mukerjee: Northeastern University Center for Renewable Energy Technology, Northeastern University

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Replacement of noble metals in catalysts for cathodic oxygen reduction reaction with transition metals mostly create active sites based on a composite of nitrogen-coordinated transition metal in close concert with non-nitrogen-coordinated carbon-embedded metal atom clusters. Here we report a non-platinum group metal electrocatalyst with an active site devoid of any direct nitrogen coordination to iron that outperforms the benchmark platinum-based catalyst in alkaline media and is comparable to its best contemporaries in acidic media. In situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy in conjunction with ex situ microscopy clearly shows nitrided carbon fibres with embedded iron particles that are not directly involved in the oxygen reduction pathway. Instead, the reaction occurs primarily on the carbon–nitrogen structure in the outer skin of the nitrided carbon fibres. Implications include the potential of creating greater active site density and the potential elimination of any Fenton-type process involving exposed iron ions culminating in peroxide initiated free-radical formation.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8343

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