Enhancement of oxygen reduction at Fe tetrapyridyl porphyrin by pyridyl-N coordination to transition metal ions

One of the promising candidates as noble-metal-free electrode catalysts for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) is a carbon material with nitrogen atoms coordinating iron ions embedded on the surface (FeNx moiety) as the active site, although the activity is insufficient compared to conventional platinum-based electrocatalysts. In order to obtain fundamental information on the activity enhancement, a simple model of the FeNx active site was formed by adsorbing 5,10,15,20-Tetrakis(4-pyridyl)-21H,23H-porphine iron(III) chloride (FeTPyPCl) on the basal plane of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), and cathodic oxygen reduction was investigated on the surface in 0.1 M HClO4. The catalytic activity for oxygen reduction was enhanced by loading transition metal ions (Co2+, Ni2+, Cu2+) together with FeTPyPCl. The X-ray photoelectron spectrum of the surface suggested that the metal was coordinated by the pyridine-N. The enhancement effect of the transition metals was supported by two different measurements: oxygen reduction at HOPG in 0.1 M HClO4 dissolving FeTPyPCl and the metal ions; oxygen reduction in 0.1 M HClO4 at the subsequently well-rinsed and dried HOPG. The ultraviolet–visible spectrum for the solution also suggested the coordination between the pyridyl-N and the metal ions. The oxygen reduction enhancement was attributed to the electronic interaction between the additional transition metal and the Fe center of the porphyrin through the coordination bonds. These results implied that the improvement of the activity of the noble-metal-free catalyst would be possible by the proper introduction of the transition metal ions around the active site.