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Nature Research, Scientific Reports, 1(5), 2015

DOI: 10.1038/srep17396

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Electrospun interconnected Fe-N/C nanofiber networks as efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction in acidic media

Journal article published in 2015 by Nan Wu, Yingde Wang, Yongpeng Lei ORCID, Bing Wang, Cheng Han, Yanzi Gou, Qi Shi, Dong Fang
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

AbstractOne-dimensional electrospun nanofibers have emerged as a potential candidate for high-performance oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts. However, contact resistance among the neighbouring nanofibers hinders the electron transport. Here, we report the preparation of interconnected Fe-N/C nanofiber networks (Fe-N/C NNs) with low electrical resistance via electrospinning followed by maturing and pyrolysis. The Fe-N/C NNs show excellent ORR activity with onset and half-wave potential of 55 and 108 mV less than those of Pt/C catalyst in 0.5 M H2SO4. Intriguingly, the resulting Fe-N/C NNs exhibit 34% higher peak current density and superior durability than generic Fe-N/C ones with similar microstructure and chemical compositions. Additionally, it also displays much better durability and methanol tolerance than Pt/C catalyst. The higher electroactivity is mainly due to the more effective electron transport between the interconnected nanofibers. Thus, our findings provide a novel insight into the design of functional electrospun nanofibers for the application in energy storage and conversion fields.