Three-dimensional porous metal–nitrogen doped carbon nanostructure as a superior non-precious electrocatalyst in oxygen reduction reaction

We report the porous transition metal–nitrogen doped carbon nanostructures as cathode catalysts using a well-stacked arrangement of template materials in the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone as nitrogen and carbon sources and metal phthalocyanine as metal and nitrogen sources. The as-prepared nanostructures show high specific surface areas (105.73–228.13 m² g⁻¹), porous structure, and doped metal and nitrogen species (pyridinic-N, pyrrolic-N, and graphitic-N) into carbon structures. In particular, the porous Fe–N-doped carbon nanostructure exhibits excellent ORR electrocatalytic properties in alkaline electrolyte; i.e., electron transfer number close to 4, high half-wave potential (0.81 V), improved electrochemical stability (a slight decrease of ∼31 mV in the half-wave potential after the stability test), and methanol tolerance.