CoFe alloy embedded in N-doped carbon nanotubes derived from triamterene as a highly efficient and durable electrocatalyst beyond commercial Pt/C for oxygen reduction.

For development of green and sustainable energy, it is of importance to search highly efficient and low-cost electrocatalysts of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in energy conversion devices. Herein, CoFe alloyed nanocrystals embedded in N-doped bamboo-like carbon nanotubes (CoFe@NCNTs) were facilely synthetized by one-step co-pyrolysis with the mixture of triamterene, metal chlorides and graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN). The resultant CoFe@NCNTs exhibited excellent ORR activity with the positive shifts in the onset potential (E = 0.97 V) and half-wave potential (E = 0.88 V), outperforming commercial Pt/C (E = 0.96 V; E = 0.84 V). Compared to metal organic frameworks (MOFs)-based strategy for synthesis of low-cost carbon-based ORR catalysts, this method is simple and convenient, coupled by avoiding the complicated synthesis of MOFs and its ligands. This work provides a promising route to fabricate advanced transition-metal-based carbon catalysts in the researches correlated with energy conversion devices.