Synthesis highly active and durable non-precious-metal catalyst with 2,2-pyridylbenzimidazole as novel nitrogen coordination compound for oxygen reduction reaction

•2,2-Pyridylbenzimidazole is used for the first time for synthesizing ORR catalyst.•The catalyst shows better ORR activity than Pt/C in alkaline media.•The catalyst presents higher stability than Pt/C in accelerated stress test.•The catalyst also displays high methanol tolerance ability.

2,2-Pyridylbenzimidazole is used for the first time as nitrogen coordination compound for synthesizing nitrogen-doped carbon catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The as-prepared catalyst exhibits better catalytic activity and stability than commercial carbon supported platinum (Pt/C) catalyst for ORR in alkaline media. Excellent methanol tolerance ability is also demonstrated. We propose that the presence of trace metal residues in this catalyst can profoundly promote ORR.

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