A cooperative template strategy to control the pore structure of ZIF-derived carbon for fuel cell cathodes

Abstract

Building advanced catalyst supports to improve the sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics is essential to enhance fuel cell performance. However, constructing carbon supports with ideal pore structures that can reduce the mass transport resistance of oxygen while stabilising small nanoparticles (NPs) remains a challenge. Herein, we report a facile cooperative template strategy to construct a porous carbon (p-ZIF-8-C), which features a high specific surface area (1029.7 m² g⁻¹) and a unique mesoporous distribution (5–15 nm). When serving as a catalyst support, Pt NPs with an average size of ∼2.3 nm are obtained in the as-synthesized Pt/p-ZIF-8-C catalyst. Besides exhibiting a half-wave potential up to 0.915 V and excellent durability, Pt/p-ZIF-8-C achieves a significantly enhanced performance in H₂–air fuel cells with a Pt loading of 0.1 mg_Pt cm⁻² in the cathode (maximum power density of 801 mW cm⁻² and 1315 mA cm⁻² at 0.6 V). This work offers guidance for the development of advanced supports in the future.