Phosphorus-doped porous carbons as efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction

Efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) play a critical role in the performance of fuel cells and metal-air batteries. In this study, we report a facile synthesis of phosphorus (P)-doped porous carbon as a highly active electrocatalyst for the ORR. Phosphorus-doped porous carbon was prepared by simultaneous doping and activation of carbon with phosphoric acid (H3PO4) in the presence of Co. Both phosphorus and cobalt were found to play significant roles in improving the catalytic activity of carbon for the ORR. The as-prepared phosphorus-doped porous carbon exhibited considerable catalytic activity for the ORR as evidenced by rotating ring-disk electrode studies. At the same mass loading, the Tafel slope of phosphorus-doped porous carbon electrocatalysts is comparable to that of the commercial Pt/C catalysts (20 wt% Pt on Vulcan XC-72, Johnson Matthey) with stability superior to Pt/C in alkaline solutions.