Work

Unravelling the Role of Oxygen Groups in Fe─N─C Fuel Cell Catalyst Degradation

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT The insufficient stability of transition metal nitrogen‐doped carbon (TM‐N‐C) catalysts has hindered the widespread adoption of non‐precious‐metal proton‐exchange‐membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Herein, using Fe‐doped MET(Zn)‐derived materials as a versatile platform, we unravel the role of oxygen groups in Fe‐N‐C catalyst degradation while achieving substantially enhanced fuel cell performance. DFT results indicate that carbonyl (C═O) and epoxy (C─O─C) groups lower the energy barrier of the rate‐determining step in the carbon oxidation reaction (COR), strengthen intermediate *OOH adsorption, and thereby accelerate carbon support corrosion. Based on this, a hydrogen‐thermal reduction strategy was developed to construct the Fe SA /NC‐H catalyst with low surface oxygen content. Experimental results demonstrate the outstanding activity and stability of the Fe SA /NC‐H catalyst. In H 2 ‐O 2 PEMFCs, the catalyst achieves a peak power density ( P max ) of 1.32 W cm −2 , which is 1.26 times that of the reference catalyst (1.05 W cm −2 ). After 30 000 accelerated stress tests, Fe SA /NC‐H retains 77.3% of its initial P max , 1.56 times that of Fe SA /NC (49.5%). It also shows only 7.5% voltage decay during a 100 h open‐circuit voltage durability test.

Source: Angewandte Chemie International Edition

DOI: 10.1002/anie.3256885