One-step synthesis of N-doped amorphous carbon at relatively low temperature as excellent metal-free electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction

• Metal-free amorphous N-doped carbon catalyst for oxygen reduction was synthesized.
• Synthetic method was one-step magnetron sputtering at relatively low temperature.
• Chemical bonding states of N atoms were tuned by adjusting deposition temperature.
• The optimized catalyst exhibited high activity, stability and methanol tolerance.
• Pyridinic N in film was confirmed as an active site.

Transition metal is usually required for obtaining N-doped carbon (dN-C) catalysts toward oxygen reduction reaction, leading to an intense debate on whether the active sites in dN-C correlate to transition metal. Here, we report that metal-free amorphous dN-C was synthesized using simple one-step magnetron sputtering at relatively low temperature. The chemical bonding states of N atoms, which play a key role in optimizing the electrocatalytic activity, can be tuned by adjusting deposition temperature. The metal-free dN-C with high pyridinic N content exhibits high electrocatalytic activity, and its stability and methanol tolerance are much better than commercial Pt/C catalyst.

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