Rapeseed meal-based autochthonous N and S-doped non-metallic porous carbon electrode material for oxygen reduction reaction catalysis

The heteroatom-doped porous carbon material as an alternative to commercial Pt/C catalysts in oxygen reduction reaction has attracted extensive attention. In this study, the rapeseed meal-based material (ARM-900) prepared by carbonization with high temperature and activation with ZnCl 2 had a porous structure and was doped with N and S heteroatoms. Compared to commercial Pt/C catalysts (onset potential of 0.95 V vs. RHE and limiting diffusion current of −5.7 mA cm −2 ), ARM-900 demonstrated excellent electrocatalytic performance with an onset potential of 0.98 V vs. RHE and limiting diffusion current of −8.1 mA cm −2 in O 2 saturated 0.1 M KOH solution. Meanwhile, ARM-900 had higher durability and more superior methanol tolerance than Pt/C catalyst. The excellent ORR performance of ARM-900 was derived from the formation of abundant pore structure and the doping of the autochthonous N and S heteroatoms. MFCs with ARM-900 as the cathode had the maximum power density of 808 mW/m 2 , which was obviously better than Pt/C (709 mW/m 2 ). This study provided an environment-friendly and effective strategy for the reuse of rapeseed meal and the preparation of N and S-doped non-metallic ORR catalysts.