On the Origin of the Effect of pH in Oxygen Reduction Reaction for Nondoped and Edge-Type Quaternary N-Doped Metal-Free Carbon-Based Catalysts

Abstract

Metal-free carbon-based catalysts have gained much attention during the last 15 years as an alternative toward the replacement of platinum-based catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, carbon-based catalysts only show promising catalytic activity in alkaline solution. Concurrently, the most optimized polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells use proton exchange membranes. This means that the cathode electrode is surrounded by a protonic environment in which carbon materials show poor performance, with differences above 0.5 V in EONSET for nondoped carbon materials. Therefore, the search for highly active carbon-based catalysts is only possible if we first understand the origin of the poor electrocatalytic activity of this kind of catalysts in acidic conditions. We address this matter through a combined experimental and modeling study, which yields fundamental principles on the origin of the pH effects in ORR for carbon-based materials. This is relevant for the design of pH-independent metal-free carbon-based catalysts.