Small-size and well-dispersed Fe nanoparticles embedded in carbon rods for efficient oxygen reduction reaction

The preparation of ultra-small and well-dispersed metal nanoparticles (NPs) is of great importance for promoting oxygen reduction. Here, a metal (Fe and Zn) NP (7 nm) based catalyst derived from a Zn-based metal-organic framework was obtained by a vapor adsorption strategy, demonstrating a high half-wave potential (0.868 V) and power density (196 mW cm-2). Using a "vapor adsorption" strategy, uniform carbon-protected metal (Fe and Zn) NPs (7 nm) have been successfully prepared. Significantly, this catalyst exhibits wonderful ORR activity in 0.1 M KOH and much better E1/2 of 0.868 V (vs. RHE).