An Efficient Anti‐poisoning Catalyst against SO_<i>x</i>, NO_<i>x</i>, and PO_<i>x</i>: P, N‐Doped Carbon for Oxygen Reduction in Acidic Media

Abstract

Electrocatalysts are readily poisoned during the catalysis of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR); even air containing traces of SO_x and/or NO_x significantly decrease the activity and the durability of H₂ -O₂ fuel cells. Now, a metal-free strategy is reported to develop an efficient anti-poisoning ORR catalyst, which involves the pyrolysis of PDAP-phytic acid super-molecular aggregate (PPSA). The pyrolyzed co-doped carbon acting as a metal-free electrocatalyst shows an enhanced activity for ORR in acidic medium, even under poisoning conditions (SO_x , NO_x , and PO_x ). Moreover, P-doping also changes the ORR pathway by yielding less than 4 % of H₂ O₂ , indicating a four-electron pathway whereas more than>20 % of H₂ O₂ was recorded for N-doped carbon synthesized from PDAP.