MOF-derived Fe–N–C electrocatalyst via a dual ligand strategy for efficient oxygen reduction in acidic media

Fe–N–C materials as popular non-Pt group metal (non-PGM) electrocatalysts demonstrated huge potential for replacing Pt-based materials for efficient oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysis in acidic media. Herein, a metal–organic-framework (MOF)-based dual ligand strategy is proposed to develop advanced Fe–N–C materials with a controllable density of Fe-Nx sites and electrochemically active surface area, attributed to the synergistic effect from secondary ligand manipulation and Zn evaporation during pyrolysis. As a result, the optimized catalyst exhibits an ORR half-wave potential of 0.747 V vs. RHE and long-term stability with only a 29 mV negative shift after 3000 potential cycles in 0.5 M H2SO4 electrolyte. More far-reaching, this MOF-based dual ligand strategy opens a novel avenue to the precise fabrication of efficient catalysts.