Porous-Organic-Framework-Templated Nitrogen-Rich Porous Carbon as a More Proficient Electrocatalyst than Pt/C for the Electrochemical Reduction of Oxygen

Abstract

Porous nitrogen‐rich carbon (POF‐C‐1000) that was synthesized by using a porous organic framework (POF) as a self‐sacrificing host template in a nanocasting process possessed a high degree of graphitization in an ordered structural arrangement with large domains and well‐ordered arrays of carbon sheets. POF‐C‐1000 exhibits favorable electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen‐reduction reaction (ORR) with a clear positive shift of about 40 mV in the onset potential compared to that of a traditional, commercially available Pt/C catalyst. In addition, irrespective of its moderate surface area (785 m² g⁻1), POF‐C‐1000 showed a reasonable H2 adsorption of 1.6 wt % (77 K) and a CO2 uptake of 3.5 mmol g⁻ (273 K).