Iron‐Nitrogen Co‐doped Carbon with a Tunable Composition as Efficient Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction

Abstract Understanding the relationship between composition and activity is essential for the rational design of metal‐nitrogen‐Carbon (M−N−C) electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Here, a series of Fe‐N co‐doped porous carbon (Fe‐N−C) electrocatalysts are successfully prepared through the pyrolysis of ZIF‐8 doped with different amount of hemin. The catalyst (Fe 55 ‐N−C) exhibits impressive ORR performance with an onset potential ( E onset ) of 1.02 V (vs. RHE) and a half‐wave potential ( E 1/2 ) of 0.892 V in alkaline media, outperforming commercial Pt/C. Meanwhile, the average kinetic current density ( J k ) of Fe 55 ‐N−C at 0.850 V is 17.5 mA cm −2 , which is 3.3‐fold higher than that of commercial Pt/C. Besides, it also delivers anti‐methanol poisoning ability and high durability. The high performance stems from the hierarchical porous structure, large specific surface area, and high dispersion of Fe‐N x active sites in Fe 55 ‐N−C. These findings could inspire new perspectives for rationally designing and synthesizing economical and practical non‐precious‐metal oxygen reduction electrocatalysts.