Oxygen Vacancy-Enriched FeOx Nanoparticle Electrocatalyst for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

FeOx electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction were prepared via one-step synthesis using electron impact with cold plasma as the electron source.Given the low operation temperature,FeOx by plasma technology showed a smaller particle size than that prepared via conventional calcination.Notably,electron impact produced more oxygen vacancies and a larger surface area on FeOx,which increased active sites and electronic conductivity,than plasma.Electrochemical investigations indicated that FeOx prepared by plasma exhibited remarkable oxygen reduction reaction activity toward the four-electron electrochemical reduction of oxygen.The results demonstrated that this facile fabrication method is a promising route for developing cost-eff ective and high-performance catalysts to be used in electrochemical applications.