Single‐Atom Cr−N₄ Sites Designed for Durable Oxygen Reduction Catalysis in Acid Media

Abstract

Abstract Single‐atom catalysts (SACs) are attracting widespread interest for the catalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), with Fe−N x SACs exhibiting the most promising activity. However, Fe‐based catalysts suffer serious stability issues as a result of oxidative corrosion through the Fenton reaction. Herein, using a metal‐organic framework as an anchoring matrix, we for the first time obtained pyrolyzed Cr/N/C SACs for the ORR, where the atomically dispersed Cr is confirmed to have a Cr−N 4 coordination structure. The Cr/N/C catalyst exhibits excellent ORR activity with an optimal half‐wave potential of 0.773 V versus RHE. More excitingly, the Fenton reaction is substantially reduced and, thus, the final catalysts show superb stability. The innovative and robust active site for the ORR opens a new possibility to circumvent the stability issue of the non‐noble metal ORR catalysts.