An Efficient Anti-poisoning Catalyst against SOx , NOx , and POx : P, N-Doped Carbon for Oxygen Reduction in Acidic Media.

Electrocatalysts are readily poisoned during the catalysis of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR); even air containing traces of SOx and/or NOx significantly decrease the activity and the durability of H2 -O2 fuel cells. Now, a metal-free strategy is reported to develop an efficient anti-poisoning ORR catalyst, which involves the pyrolysis of PDAP-phytic acid super-molecular aggregate (PPSA). The pyrolyzed co-doped carbon acting as a metal-free electrocatalyst shows an enhanced activity for ORR in acidic medium, even under poisoning conditions (SOx , NOx , and POx ). Moreover, P-doping also changes the ORR pathway by yielding less than 4 % of H2 O2 , indicating a four-electron pathway whereas more than>20 % of H2 O2 was recorded for N-doped carbon synthesized from PDAP.