Electroreduction of oxygen on iron- and cobalt-containing nitrogen-doped carbon catalysts prepared from the rapeseed press cake

Transition metal-containing nitrogen-doped carbon catalysts for the electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) were prepared from inexpensive biomass - rapeseed press cake; cobalt and/or iron salts and dicyandiamide were employed as metal and nitrogen sources. After acid treatment, the catalysts showed excellent electrocatalytic ORR activity in rotating disk electrode experiments in 0.1 M KOH solution, comparable to that of Pt/C (20 wt%) catalyst; good tolerance to methanol and high stability in short-time tests. The bimetallic catalyst displayed moderate performance as cathode material in anion exchange membrane fuel cell (AEMFC) test, by reaching the peak power density of 131 mW cm-2.