Mo, Fe bimetallic carbide composite as high stability electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

Developing inexpensive but efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reactions (ORR) is critical to the design of zinc-air battery (ZAB). Here, we report a good ORR electrocatalyst (MoFeCx-NC) composed of nitrogen-doped carbon armored by ferro-molybdenum binary carbides. The physical characterization of MoFeCx-NC by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) show that MoFeCx-NC is composed of amorphous bimetallic carbides and N-doped carbon. In addition, the electrochemical test shows that its more positive onset potential of 0.962 V and better half-wave potential of 0.847 V, almost close to Pt/C (Eonset = 0.957 V, E1/2 = 0.854 V). Furthermore, the MoFeCx-NC assembled ZAB exhibits a good peak power density of 79.14 mW cm-2 and an impressive 1.40 V discharge voltage, indicating that the obtained MoFeCx-NC is an ideal for the future ORR electrocatalyst.