Fe/N/C catalyst with high activity for oxygen reduction reaction derived from surfactant modified porous carbon-supported melamine-formaldehyde resin

•Fe/N/C catalyst for ORR is synthesized based on the inexpensive melamine resin.•Carbon will enhance ORR activity due to the abundant micropores in Fe/N/C catalyst.•Addition of Tween 80 during synthesis can significantly improve the performance.

The aim of non-precious metal catalysts (NPMCs) is to replace expensive Pt-based catalysts for fuel cells. NPMCs require not only high oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalytic activity but also cheap ingredients, and the facile synthetic method of the catalyst is amendable to mass production. We describe a potential catalyst for catalyzing the cathodic ORR, which is synthesized by a facile method: uses porous carbon-supported melamine-formaldehyde resin as a precursor to a carbon–nitrogen template for high-temperature synthesis of catalysts incorporating iron. In the synthesis process of porous carbon-supported melamine-formaldehyde resin, the uses of surfactant (Tween 80), making the activity of catalysts have been improved significantly. As a result, the catalyst demonstrates remarkable ORR activity in both acid and alkaline electrolytes, thus making it a promising alternative as an ORR catalyst for application in fuel cells.

Graphical abstractIn this work the study of the inexpensive melamine resin synthesized to obtain Fe/N/C catalyst with high activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is reported. And with the use of surfactant (Tween 80) modified carbon black, ORR activity of Fe-MF-C catalyst has been significantly improved.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide