Theory, Synthesis, and Oxygen Reduction Catalysis of Fe-Porphyrin-Like Carbon Nanotube

Abstract

We report the synthesis of a Fe-porphyrin-like carbon nanotube from conventional plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Covalent but seamless incorporation of the 5-6-5-6 porphyrinic $\mathrm{Fe}\mathrm{\text{\ensuremath{-}}}{\mathrm{N}}_{4}$ moiety into the graphene hexagonal side wall was elucidated by x-ray and ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopies and first-principles electronic structure calculations. The resulting biomimetic nanotube exhibits an excellent oxygen reduction catalytic activity with the extreme structural stability over $0.1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{6}$ cycles, vastly superior to the commercial Pt-C catalyst.