Acidic oxygen reduction by single-atom Fe catalysts on curved supports

Yasong Zhao, Jiawei Wan, Chongyi Ling, Yanlei Wang, Hongyan He, Nailiang Yang, Rui Wen, Qinghua Zhang, Lin Gu, Bolong Yang, Zhonghua Xiang (), Chen Chen, Jinlan Wang (), Xin Wang, Yucheng Wang, Huabing Tao, Xuning Li, Bin Liu (), Suojiang Zhang () and Dan Wang ()
Additional contact information
Yasong Zhao: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jiawei Wan: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chongyi Ling: Southeast University
Yanlei Wang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Hongyan He: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Nailiang Yang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Rui Wen: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Qinghua Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Lin Gu: Tsinghua University
Bolong Yang: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Zhonghua Xiang: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Chen Chen: Tsinghua University
Jinlan Wang: Southeast University
Xin Wang: City University of Hong Kong
Yucheng Wang: Xiamen University
Huabing Tao: Xiamen University
Xuning Li: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Bin Liu: City University of Hong Kong
Suojiang Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Dan Wang: Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nature, 2025, vol. 644, issue 8077, 668-675

Abstract: Abstract Developing highly active and durable electrocatalysts for cost-effective proton-exchange membrane fuel cells is challenging1–3. Fe/N–C catalysts are among the most promising alternatives to the platinum group metal catalysts, but their activity and durability still cannot meet the performance criteria due to the strong adsorption of oxygenated reaction intermediates and the demetallization of Fe species caused by the Fenton reaction4–8. Here we design and develop a new type of Fe/N–C catalyst that is composed of numerous nanoprotrusions dispersed on two-dimensional carbon layers with single Fe-atom sites primarily embedded within the inner curved surface of the nanoprotrusions. The graphitized outer carbon layer of the nanoprotrusions can not only effectively weaken the binding strength of the oxygenated reaction intermediates, but also reduce the hydroxyl radical production rate. As a result, the Fe/N–C catalyst delivers one of the best-performing platinum group metal-free proton-exchange membrane fuel cell performances, achieving a record high power density of 0.75 W cm−2 under 1.0 bar H2–air with 86% activity retention after more than 300 hours of continuous operation.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09364-6

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