Iron Carbide Nanoparticles Supported By Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanosheets For Oxygen Reduction

Collocation of a suitable catalyst and support is a classic way to tune the activity and stability of catalysts. Herein, we designed a self-sacrificial reagent-directed route to synthesize iron carbide nanoparticles inlaid in a N-doped carbon nanosheet (Fe3CN-C). With the introduction of the sacrificial reagent, the chemical Fe-N bonds in Fe3C-N-C increases and the size of Fe3C becomes smaller, further leading to uniform dispersion. With the increase of chemical Fe-N bonds, Fe3C-N-C ensures structural stability and prevents surface poisoning and agglomeration. Notably, the Fe3CN-C catalyst exhibits much higher oxygen reduction reaction activity (E-0 = 0.94 V, E-1/2 = 0.82 V), longer stability (Delta E = -15 mV), and better methanol tolerance than 20% Pt/C (E-0 = 0. 98 V, E-1/2 = 0.85 V, Delta E = -27 mV). Fe3C-N-C materials can also be assembled into Li-O-2 batteries taking advantage of their large discharge capacity and excellent cycling stability. Our findings guide in designing advanced carbon-supported metal catalysts.