Fuel cell technology is on its verge of deployment as one of the solutions for decarbonization of transportation. It currently uses platinum-based catalysts, being the largest materials cost factor, subject to market volatility, limited availability, and unfavorable geopolitical source location. Hence, Earth-abundant elements-based materials, and among those, platinum-free catalysts, could be an ultimate solution. Among several such catalysts, the transition-metal nitrogen-carbon ones have shown adequate activity and promise in durability, the latest being the most vulnerable treat. Recent years have seen initial successes in incorporation of iron-nitrogen-carbon catalysts in fuel cells and their evaluation under automotive relevant conditions. The catalysts can be described as N-doped, graphene-like carbonaceous materials, with transition metal atomically dispersed and associated with the pyridinic nitrogen-containing in-plane or edge defects in graphene. Here, we provide a view on these materials' chemical composition and morphology that provide for the reactivity and stability of transition-metal-containing active sites.

燃料电池技术正处于作为运输脱碳解决方案之一的部署边缘。它目前使用铂基催化剂，这是最大的材料成本因素，受市场波动，可用性有限和不利的地缘政治来源的限制。因此，富含地球元素的材料以及其中的无铂催化剂可能是最终的解决方案。在几种此类催化剂中，过渡金属氮-碳催化剂已显示出足够的活性，并具有持久的前景，其中最新的催化剂是最易受伤害的催化剂。近年来，在将铁-氮-碳催化剂掺入燃料电池中以及在汽车相关条件下对其进行评估方面，已经取得了初步的成功。催化剂可以描述为N掺杂的，类似石墨烯的碳质材料，  石墨烯中的平面缺陷 或 边缘缺陷。在这里，我们提供了有关这些材料的化学组成和形态的观点，以提供含过渡金属的活性位点的反应性和稳定性。