Biomass-Derived Air Cathode Materials: Pore-Controlled S,N-Co-doped Carbon for Fuel Cells and Metal–Air Batteries

An earth-abundant and feasible air cathode electrocatalyst is of importance for energy devices including fuel cells and metal–air batteries. Herein, hierarchically porous S,N-co-doped carbon materials derived from bamboo are prepared via pyrolysis of bamboo and thiourea to function as oxygen reduction reaction electrocatalysts. Due to their controlled mesopore ratio and increased effective dopant amount, the S,N-co-doped bamboo carbons (SNBCs) present half-wave potentials and stabilities comparable to those of commercial Pt/C catalysts. As cathode materials for anion exchange membrane fuel cells and Zn–air batteries, SNBCs exhibit high performances, attributed to their intrinsic activities as well as well-developed secondary pore structure in the catalyst layer. Thus, we demonstrate the viability of biomass-derived catalysts for practical energy applications