Confinement of Fe2O3 nanoparticles in the shell of N-doped carbon hollow microsphere for efficient oxygen reduction reaction

Transition metal oxides as promising materials have received considerable attention due to their low cost, high abundance and great potential for Pt replacement in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) for the applications of fuel cells or metal-air batteries. In this study, iron oxide has been focused to improve its performance for ORR and investigate corresponding reaction mechanism. We capitalize on the unique mesoporous structure of hollow microsphere to confine iron oxide for the develop transition metal catalysts with high ORR activity and good stability. Moreover, the mechanism of this process has been investigated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations to reveal the key points in elevating the performance of transition metals.