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Tailoring FeN 4 Sites with Edge Enrichment for Boosted Oxygen Reduction Performance in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell
Author(s) -
Fu Xiaogang,
Li Na,
Ren Bohua,
Jiang Gaopeng,
Liu Yanru,
Hassan Fathy M.,
Su Dong,
Zhu Jianbing,
Yang Lin,
Bai Zhengyu,
Cano Zachary P.,
Yu Aiping,
Chen Zhongwei
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
advanced energy materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.08
H-Index - 220
eISSN - 1614-6840
pISSN - 1614-6832
DOI - 10.1002/aenm.201803737
Subject(s) - catalysis , proton exchange membrane fuel cell , materials science , active site , oxygen reduction , graphene , nitrogen , oxygen , metal , inorganic chemistry , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , chemistry , organic chemistry , electrochemistry , electrode , engineering , metallurgy
Transition metal atoms with corresponding nitrogen coordination are widely proposed as catalytic centers for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in metal–nitrogen–carbon (M–N–C) catalysts. Here, an effective strategy that can tailor Fe–N–C catalysts to simultaneously enrich the number of active sites while boosting their intrinsic activity and utilization is reported. This is achieved by edge engineering of FeN 4 sites via a simple ammonium chloride salt‐assisted approach, where a high fraction of FeN 4 sites are preferentially generated and hosted in a graphene‐like porous scaffold. Theoretical calculations reveal that the FeN 4 moieties with adjacent pore defects are likely to be more active than the nondefective configuration. Coupled with the facilitated accessibility of active sites, this prepared catalyst, when applied in a practical H 2 –air proton exchange membrane fuel cell, delivers a remarkable peak power density of 0.43 W cm −2 , ranking it as one of the most active M–N–C catalysts reported to date. This work provides a new avenue for boosting ORR activity by edge manipulation of FeN 4 sites.