Recent Progress and Prospects of Manganese–Nitrogen–Carbon Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) holds significant importance in the electrochemical processes of energy conversion systems. The kinetics of the ORR are sluggish as it is involved in multistep reactions. It is imperative to investigate ORR electrocatalysts with outstanding performance and durability accelerating their kinetics. Manganese–nitrogen–carbon (Mn–N–C) materials offer significant advantages including efficient atom utilization and easily tunable coordination structures, rendering them promising candidates for enhancing ORR catalytic activity. The mini-review provides a concise overview of the fundamental principles underlying the ORR. Then, three strategies for regulating the coordination structure are summarized to improve the ORR catalytic activity of Mn–N–C catalysts: adjusting the coordination number of N atoms around Mn atoms, doping nonmetal atoms, and doping metal atoms. Finally, this mini-review outlines the challenges and prospects associated with the Mn–N–C catalyst for ORR. This mini-review is anticipated to deepen the comprehension of ORR electrocatalysts for readers by presenting targeted optimization methods to regulate the configuration of Mn–N–C catalysts.