A bimetallic carbide Fe2MoC promoted Pd electrocatalyst with performance superior to Pt/C towards the oxygen reduction reaction in acidic media

• A novel and stable bimetallic carbide Fe2MoC is synthesized.
• Fe2MoC promoted Pd electrocatalyst shows superior activity and stability to Pt/C.
• Inherent stability and electron-transfer of Fe2MoC to Pd lead to high performance.

Novel and stable bimetallic carbide (Fe2MoC) anchored on graphitized carbon (GC) has been synthesized by an ion-exchange method. The Pd supported on GC-Fe2MoC electrocatalyst (Pd/GC-Fe2MoC) shows superior activity and stability to commercial Pt/C for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in acidic media. The XPS spectra reveal that the excellent performance of Pd/GC-Fe2MoC should be due to the excellent electron-donating (synergistic effect) of Fe2MoC to Pd, which not only facilitates the reduction of O2 but also increases the linkage strength between Pd and Fe2MoC. The Koutecky-Levich plots indicate 4-electron transfer for the Pd/GC-Fe2MoC catalyzed ORR.

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