Fe and N Co-doped Carbons Derived from an Ionic Liquid as Active Bifunctional Oxygen Catalysts

A high-performance electrocatalyst that could effectively catalyze the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is required in important energy conversion devices such as metal-air batteries. Herein, we report the template-free synthesis of a Fe and N co-doped carbon catalyst, using a novel ionic liquid as the precursor. The Fe-N-C catalyst prepared at 800 degrees C exhibits comparable ORR performance but significantly improved OER activity compared to the commercial Pt/C catalyst as well as good stability. We demonstrate that the excellent performance of the catalyst is caused by its high heteroatom content, large surface area, and high degree of graphitization.