A novel non-precious metal catalyst synthesized via pyrolysis of polyaniline-coated tungsten carbide particles for oxygen reduction reaction

► We develop a novel W-N-C catalyst for ORR. ► The W-N-C catalyst exhibits an excellent ORR activity in acidic media. ► The presence of W species contributes to growth of nanoshell structure. ► This work offers a new route to designing and developing new kinds of NPMCs.