One-step synthesis of nitrogen-doped microporous carbon materials as metal-free electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction

In our work, a convenient preparation route is reported for the synthesis of nitrogen-doped microporous carbon materials by direct carbonization of an amine functionalized aluminium-based metal organic framework (MOF) compound, amino-MIL-53(Al). Through the pore distribution and pore volume calculations it was found that the carbon products possess narrow pore size, which is approximately 1 nm, and high microporous surface area and volume. The highest proportion of microporous contribution is 93% for surface area and 88% for pore volume. As metal-free electrocatalysts, these carbon products exhibit attractive capability for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline medium. The investigation shows that these nitrogen-doped microporous carbon materials have promising applications in fuel cells.