Highly active oxygen reduction non-platinum group metal electrocatalyst without direct metal–nitrogen coordination

Replacement of noble metals in catalysts for cathodic oxygen reduction reaction with transition metals mostly create active sites based on a composite of nitrogen-coordinated transition metal in close concert with non-nitrogen-coordinated carbon-embedded metal atom clusters. Here we report a non-platinum group metal electrocatalyst with an active site devoid of any direct nitrogen coordination to iron that outperforms the benchmark platinum-based catalyst in alkaline media and is comparable to its best contemporaries in acidic media. In situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy in conjunction with ex situ microscopy clearly shows nitrided carbon fibres with embedded iron particles that are not directly involved in…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy

  Award: DE-EE-0000459
• OO
  Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

  Award: DE-EE-0000459
• NI
  National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering

  Award: P30-EB-009998
• BE
  Basic Energy Sciences
• BN
  Brookhaven National Laboratory