In the last decades,researchers have focused on developing new innovative materials to enhance the performance of environmentally friendly energy conversion devices.In this context,fuel cells are considered an interesting alternative towards greener electrical energy conversion due to their high efficiency and low emission of pollutants.However,the overall reaction is limited by the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)due to its sluggish kinetics.The most commonly used electrocatalysts to supply faster kinetics are platinum-based materials which,due to its high cost,should be replaced by a more economical electrocatalyst.Activated carbons(ACs)can be obtained from abundant,low-cost and environmental-friendly sources,such as biomass,which makes them good candidates to replace Pt-based electrocatalysts.Nonetheless,the physicochemical properties of ACs need to be modified to achieve outstanding electrochemical performance2.These modifications can be achieved by adequate functionalization with nitrogen and the incorporation of M-N4(M=Metal)groups3.Accordingly,this work aims to study the role of the different nitrogen functionalities and the surface chemistry modifications caused by the incorporation of iron(II)phthalocyanine(FePc)into the structure of hydrothermal glucose-derived carbons.
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