Mesoporous non-noble metal electrocatalyst derived from ZIF-67 and cobalt porphyrin for the oxygen reduction in alkaline solution

Mesoporous carbon materials were prepared using zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-67) as a support to prevent the aggregation of Co (II) Meso‑Tetra (4‑methoxyphenyl) porphine (CoTMPP) during the carbonization process. The obtained carbon materials possessed a surface area of 216 m2 g−1 with a porous structure, displaying a comparable oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performance to commercial Pt/C with 5 μgPt cm−2 and better electrochemical properties than that of 20 wt% Pt/C in terms of durability and tolerance against methanol crossover in 0.1 M KOH. The remarkable electrochemical property was attributed to abundant exposure of active sites, including Co-Nx, N-doped carbon as well as Co-containing species.