Layered hierarchical porous nitrogen-doped carbon-supported PtFe alloy catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction

The development of cost-effective and durable oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts is crucial for advancing proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). PtFe alloy catalysts have emerged as a key research focus. However, weak interactions between conventional carbon supports and transition metals lead to metal dissolution, severely compromising catalytic durability. To address this, we constructed a hierarchical porous nitrogen-doped carbon support (LC) via template-assisted pyrolysis, and subsequently synthesized highly dispersed PtFe/LC catalysts using a reduction approach involving hydrogen calcination. This strategy effectively suppresses nanoparticle agglomeration while anchoring metal particles through Fe-N bonds, significantly mitigating transition metal leaching. In acidic media, the optimized catalyst demonstrates a remarkable half-wave potential of 0.92 V (vs. RHE), outperforming commercial Pt/C (0.87 V).