Stable N-doped & FeNi-decorated graphene non-precious electrocatalyst for Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Acid Medium

Abstract NiFe nanoparticles-decorated & N-doped graphene is introduced as an effective and stable non-precious electrocatalyst for ORR in the acid medium. Compared to conventional Pt/C electrodes under the same conditions, the proposed nanocatalyst shows closer onset potential and current density. Typically, the observed onset potentials and current densities for the synthesized and Pt/C electrodes are 825 and 910 mV (vs. NHE) and −3.65 and −4.31 mA.cm−2 (at 5 mV.s−1), respectively. However, the most important advantage of the introduced metallic alloy-decorated graphene is its distinct stability in acid medium; the retention in the electrocatalytic performance after 1,000 successive cycles is approximately 98%. This finding is attributed to the high corrosion resistance of the NiFe alloy. The kinetic study indicates that the number of the transferred electrons is 3.46 and 3.89 for the introduced and Pt/C (20 wt%) electrodes, respectively which concludes a high activity for the proposed nanocomposite. The suggested decorated graphene can be synthesized using a multi-thermal method. Typically, nickel acetate, iron acetate, graphene oxide and urea are subjected to MW heating. Then, sintering with melamine in an Argon atmosphere at 750 °C is required to produce the final electrocatalyst. Overall, the introduced NiFe@ N-doped Gr nanocomposite shows remarkable electrochemical activity in the acid medium with long-term stability.