Preparation of Carbon Alloy Catalysts from a Polyhydroxyamide with Iron Phthalocyanine via a Poly-biphenylenebisoxazole Composite

'Carbon Alloy Catalysts' (CAC), non-precious metal catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), were prepared from a polyhydroxyamide poly(3,3'-dihydroxybenzidine terephthalamide) (DHBTA) with iron phthalocyanine (FePc) via a poly-biphenylenebisoxazole (biPBO) composite, by carbonization at 800 degrees C under nitrogen flow. Monitoring of the carbonization process by elemental analysis and FT-IR implies that nitrile and carbonyl groups are intermediates for CACs, and that Fe accelerates carbonization. Obtained CACs showed high ORR activity when Fe content in the polymer increased. The catalytic activity for ORR was evaluated at the onset potential of -2 mu Acm(-2). Especially, CAC derived from polyhydroxyamide with FePc (containing 3 wt% Fe) had an onset potential of 0.89 V, which is a higher value than those derived from phenolic resin blended with FePc. TEM and XRD analysis of the highly active ORR catalyst showed higher crystallinity and increased number of turbostratic carbons due to the increased Fe content during carbonization.