Precisely manipulated π-π stacking of catalytic exfoliated iron polyphthalocyanine/reduced graphene oxide hybrid via pyrolysis-free path

Metal macrocycles with well-defined molecular structures are ideal platforms for the in-depth study of elec-trochemical oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Structural integrity of metal macrocycles is vital but remain challenging since the commonly used high-temperature pyrolysis would cause severe structure damage and unidentifiable active sites. Herein, we propose a pyrolysis-free strategy to precisely manipulate the exfoliated 2D iron polyphthalocyanine (FePPc) anchored on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) via p-p stacking using facile high-energy ball milling. A delocalized electron shift caused by p-p interaction is firstly found to be the mechanism of facilitating the remarkable ORR activity of this hybrid catalyst. The optimal FePPc@rGO-HE achieves superior half-wave potential (0.90 V) than 20 % Pt/C. This study offers a new insight in designing stable and high-performance metal macrocycle catalysts with well-defined active sites.

Automated summary

We propose a pyrolysis-free strategy to manipulate the exfoliated 2D iron polyphthalocyanine (FePPc) on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) via high-energy ball milling. The p-p interaction between FePPc and rGO facilitates the remarkable oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity of this hybrid catalyst. This study offers new insights for designing stable and high-performance metal macrocycle catalysts.