Fe, N, S-codoped carbon frameworks derived from nanocrystal superlattices towards enhanced oxygen reduction activity

Recently, iron, nitrogen and sulfur codoped carbon-based materials have gained increasing attention for their synergistic effect towards superior electrocatalytic oxygen reduction performance. To gain insight into the contributions of the heteroatoms, we developed a facile and reproducible method for constructing Fe, N, S-codoped carbon frameworks derived from self-assembled Fe(3)O(4) nanocrystal superlattices. The material constructed by the suggested method exhibited excellent ORR activity with more positive half-wave potential (∼ 0.869 V, vs RHE), higher diffusion-limiting current density (∼ 5.88 mA/cm(2)) and smaller Tafel slope (45 mV/dec) compared with Fe, N-codoped carbon frameworks and Pt/C. Notably, Fe(3)O(4) nanocrystals served as both the building blocks for constructing carbon frameworks and the source of Fe residues leaving in the frameworks at the same time. By artificially tailoring the doping type and level as well as the homogeneousness of heteroatoms, the results discussed herein prove the importance of each kind of heteroatom in boosting ORR activity. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s40580-019-0174-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.