A Facile Activation Strategy for an MOF-Derived Metal-Free Oxygen Reduction Reaction Catalyst: Direct Access to Optimized Pore Structure and Nitrogen Species

Rational design of the microstructure and intrinsic active sites of nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) materials to achieve highly efficient oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts is extremely important for many renewable energy devices. Herein, we develop a metal–organic framework (MOF) derived metal-free NC material via a simple and low-cost NH3 activation strategy. With NH3 activation, the ORR catalytic performance of the MOF-derived material shows a great promotion. The material outperforms commercial Pt/C catalyst toward ORR catalysis in alkaline media with ∼28 mV higher half-wave potential. This amazing ORR performance might be attributed to its large specific surface area, hierarchical porosity, and full exposure of valid N species (mainly graphitic-N) to the ORR, which result from the facile NH3 activation.