Hybrid Porous Catalysts Derived from Metal–Organic Framework for Oxygen Reduction Reaction in an Anion Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

This study synthesized the metal–organic framework-derived composite Fe–N–Co@C-800-acid-leaching (Fe–N–Co@C-800-AL) through co-doped iron and nitrogen atoms in a zeolitic imidazolate framework-67, followed by pyrolysis at 800 °C and the AL process. Fe–N–Co@C-800-AL was highly active in an oxygen reduction reaction, during which the number of transferred electrons (3.986) was close to an ideal four-electron transfer. In addition, Fe–N–Co@C-800-AL showed no obvious degradation, even after potential cycling of half-cell measurement (30 000 cycles). The prepared material exhibited a porous structure composed of nanoparticles (NPs) that were randomly distributed on poly-hydrocarbon structures with a Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area of 449.0 m2 g–1. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrated that the synthesized Fe–N–Co@C-800-AL contained large amounts of pyridinic nitrogen and graphitic nitrogen, which could significantly enhance the activity of the oxygen reduction reaction. Furthermore, X-ray absorptio...