Facile synthesis of N, S co-doped porous carbons from a dual-ligand metal organic framework for high performance oxygen reduction reaction catalysts

•A dual ligand metal organic framework was facilely synthesized via solid grinding method and transferred to N, S co-doped porous carbons (NSCs) by thermal annealing.•The NSCs show interconnected hierarchical structure, high surface area, high graphitic N and pyridinic N content.•The NSCs show high ORR activity comparable to Pt/C both in alkaline and acidic medium and excellent stability.

Heteroatom doped porous carbons have been regarded as one of most promising candidates for Pt-free oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts. The proper heteroatom bonding configuration and synergistic effect of multiple atom co-doping are very important for improving their catalytic activity. In this work, a series of N, S co-doped porous carbons (NSCs) with excellent ORR performance were prepared by rationally using a dual-ligand metal organic framework as a carbon precursor. The interconnected porous structure, high surface area, N, S co-doping and high graphitization-N dopant, significantly contribute to the enhanced catalytic performance of ORR. The electrocatalyst studies indicated that the obtained materials have comparable ORR activity to that of the commercial Pt/C in both alkaline and acidic media, and superior long-term durability than that of Pt/C. This work can provide some guidance for synthesizing other multiple atom co-doping carbons for energy storage and conversion applications through target oriented synthesis of metal organic frameworks with different ligands.

Graphical abstractN, S co-doped porous carbons (NSCs) was prepared via directing thermal annealing of a dual ligand metal organic framework. The NSCs show interconnected network, hierarchical structure, high surface area, high graphitic N and pyridinic N content. When used as ORR catalyst, the NSC-1000 show high ORR activity comparable to that of Pt/C both in alkaline and acidic medium and excellent stability.Download high-res image (82KB)Download full-size image