Nanostructured Mn-doped Zn N C @reduced graphene oxide as high performing electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

• Nanostructured composites Mn/Zn N C @30% rGO, Mn/Zn N C @20% rGO, Mn/Zn N C @10% rGO was synthesized. • Mn/Zn N C @30% rGO demonstrates good electrocatalytic ORR activity in alkaline aqueous electrolyte solutions. • Mn/Zn N C @30% rGO has the lowest Tafel slope overpotential for attaining superior current density. • Mn/Zn N C @30% rGO has been proven reliable for test as fuel cross-over in methanol. Future fuel cells and metal-air batteries will benefit greatly from revealing self-supported electrodes with efficient oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity and durability. However, noble metal catalysts are expensive and unstable, necessitating research into novel metal-organic framework (MOF)-based topologies that can catalyse oxygen reduction reactions (ORR). In this work, the synthesis of nitrogen-doped carbon (N C) is derived from zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) and a novel Mn-doped Zn N C@rGO is synthesized using a self-templated solvothermal method and their performance in an alkaline medium for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is studied. The nanostructured composite outperformed the commercial Pt/C catalyst in terms of both material resources and application efficacy. The Mn/Zn N C @30% rGO exhibit outstanding performance for ORR in KOH, with a more positive cathodic peak of 0.78 V vs RHE and an onset potential of 0.97 V vs RHE, which are characteristics that suggest the possibility of reducing ORR overpotentials. The improved electrochemical performance, small Tafel slopes and methanol tolerance are ascribed to the interdependent effect of the N -doped carbon (N C) and the Mn/Zn active sites. Novel architecture, tunable porosities, template directed growth and remarkable electrocatalytic performance of Mn-doped Zn N C@rGO make it a good aspirant for energy applications.