Carbon fibers-coated Co@N-doped porous carbon derived from ZIF-67/alginate fibers for efficient oxygen reduction reaction

Zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-67) precursor was successfully synthesized, which was supported by one-dimensional (1-D) cobalt alginate fibers. After the pyrolysis at 900°C under N2 atmosphere, the composites were converted to 1-D carbon-fiber-coated Co@N-doped porous carbon (CoNC-CF-900), acting as efficient oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts. We investigated the effect of different pyrolysis temperatures on electrocatalytic activities of the obtained samples. The CoNC-CF-900 demonstrated excellent ORR performance, possessing the half-wave potential (E1/2) of 0.833 V, the onset potential of 0.926 V, the limiting current density of −5.56 mA cm − 2, and excellent stability under four-electron transfer pathway.