Biomass-derived porous heteroatom-doped carbon spheres as a high-performance catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction

A high-performance, spherical, heteroatom-doped carbon catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), with a porous structure and a high surface area, has been prepared through a hydrothermal treatment process and subsequent carbonization procedures using brewer's yeast powder, ferric chloride, and ammonium hydroxide as precursors. We found that the addition of iron had a significant effect on the catalysts spherical morphology and ORR activity. Electrochemical measurements demonstrated that the catalyst has excellent ORR performance, with a half-wave potential 28 mV more positive (0.861 V vs. RHE) than that of commercial 20 wt.% Pt/C (0.833 V vs. RHE) in an alkaline medium. The catalyst also displays remarkable methanol tolerance and durability. The abundance of active N and P species and the porous structure may be responsible for this catalysts high ORR performance. The present work provides a facile way of using economical, environmentally friendly, and renewable biomass to develop a high -activity cathode electrocatalyst for fuel cell applications. (C) 2016 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.