MOF‐Templated Assembly Approach for Fe3C Nanoparticles Encapsulated in Bamboo‐Like N‐Doped CNTs: Highly Efficient Oxygen Reduction under Acidic and Basic Conditions

Developing high‐performance non‐precious metal catalysts (NPMCs) for the oxygen‐reduction reaction (ORR) is of critical importance for sustainable energy conversion. We report a novel NPMC consisting of iron carbide (Fe3C) nanoparticles encapsulated in N‐doped bamboo‐like carbon nanotubes (b‐NCNTs), synthesized by a new metal‐organic framework (MOF)‐templated assembly approach. The electrocatalyst exhibits excellent ORR activity in 0.1 m KOH (0.89 V at −1 mA cm−2) and in 0.5 m H2SO4 (0.73 V at −1 mA cm−2) with a hydrogen peroxide yield of below 1 % in both electrolytes. Due to encapsulation of the Fe3C nanoparticles inside porous b‐NCNTs, the reported NPMC retains its high ORR activity after around 70 hours in both alkaline and acidic media.