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

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 H 2 –O 2 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 H 2 O 2 , indicating a four‐electron pathway whereas more than&gt;20 % of H 2 O 2 was recorded for N‐doped carbon synthesized from PDAP.