The search for an efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) to replace platinum in fuel cell cathode materials is one of the hottest topics in electrocatalysis. Among the many non-noble metal catalysts, metal/nitrogen/carbon composites made by pyrolysis of cheap materials are the most promising with control over the porosity and final structure of the catalyst a crucial point. In this work we show a method of producing a highly active ORR catalyst in alkaline media with a controllable porous structure using titanium carbide derived carbon as a base structure and dicyandiamide along with FeCl₃ or CoCl₂ as the dopants. The resulting transition metal-nitrogen co-doped carbide derived carbon (M/N/CDC) catalyst is highly efficient for ORR electrocatalysis with the activity in 0.1 M KOH approaching that of commercial 46.1 wt.% Pt/C. The catalyst materials are also investigated by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to characterise the changes in morphology and composition causing the raise in electrochemical activity. MEA performance of M/N/CDC cathode materials in H₂/O₂ alkaline membrane fuel cell is tested with the highest power density reached being 80 mW cm⁻² compared to 90 mW cm⁻² for Pt/C.

在燃料电池阴极材料中寻找一种有效的氧还原反应电催化剂来替代铂的方法是电催化领域最热门的主题之一。在许多非贵金属催化剂中，通过廉价材料的热解制备的金属/氮/碳复合材料是最有前途的，控制催化剂的孔隙率和最终结构至关重要。在这项工作中，我们展示了一种方法，该方法使用碳化钛衍生的碳作为基本结构和双氰胺与FeCl ₃或CoCl ₂一起在碱性介质中生产具有可控制的多孔结构的高活性ORR催化剂。作为掺杂剂。所得的过渡金属-氮共掺杂的碳化物衍生的碳（M / N / CDC）催化剂对ORR电催化非常有效，其在0.1 M KOH中的活性接近工业上46.1 wt。％Pt / C的活性。还通过扫描电子显微镜，拉曼光谱和X射线光电子能谱研究了催化剂材料，以表征引起电化学活性升高的形态和组成的变化。在H ₂ / O ₂碱性膜燃料电池中测试了M / N / CDC阴极材料的MEA性能，与Pt / C的90 mW cm ^-2相比，最高功率密度达到80 mW cm ^-2。