Iron and Nitrogen Co‐doped Carbide‐Derived Carbon and Carbon Nanotube Composite Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Abstract

Abstract Replacing Pt‐based catalysts with noble‐metal free catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is one of the most important topics currently in electrocatalysis. Iron‐ and nitrogen‐doped carbon materials have shown great promise in this area. In this work, we demonstrate the remarkable electrocatalytic activity towards the ORR of carbide‐derived carbon (CDC) and multi‐walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composite catalysts. The CDC material is synthesized from titanium carbide and doped using 1,10‐phenanthroline and iron (II) acetate. The material is then mixed with MWCNTs and further modified with dicyandiamide (DCDA) and additional iron by using a multi‐step pyrolysis procedure. The morphology, structure, porosity, and elemental composition are then comprehensively studied with scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, N 2 physisorption, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy. The electrocatalytic activity of the catalysts for the ORR is studied using the rotating disk electrode method and in a single‐cell anion exchange membrane fuel cell using the Tokuyama A201 membrane.