Porous Fe-Nx/C hybrid derived from bi-metal organic frameworks as high efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

A simple, low-cost and large-scale synthesis method for the carbonized porous cubes (CPCs) containing Fe and N co-doped porous carbon hybrid (Fe-N-x/C) with controlled-morphology, uniform elemental distribution and well-defined pore size is developed by pyrolyzing bimetallic Fe-III-modified IRMOF-3 cubes in Argon atmosphere at 800 degrees C. Furtherly, the CPCs are used as the electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline solution. Impressively, the CPCs hybrid exhibits a superior electrocatalytic activity with high onset potential (0.93 V) and half-wave potential (0.78 V), and excellent stability, which is attributed to the synergistic effect of its high the surface to volume ratio, well-defined pore size, multi active composition and high exposed catalytic active sites. We believe the materials based on earth-abundant elements have a huge potential to apply in catalysis, energy, and environment. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.