In situ nitrogen-doped nanoporous carbon nanocables as an efficient metal-free catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

A new N-doped carbon nanomaterial with nanoporous coaxial nanocable structure was designed for achieving the requirements of high nitrogen content, proper nitrogen bonding state, and sufficient electron and mass transportation for an oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst. The nanoporous sheaths provided more catalytic sites and allowed oxygen and reactants to easily access them for fast mass transfer, whereas carbon nanotube cores provided a three-dimensional conductive network and guaranteed fast electron transfer. As a result, the designed low-cost catalyst exhibited excellent electrocatalytic performance and is one of the most active metal-free ORR catalyst.