Jang, Yoon-A. Seo, Daehyeon Kim, Taewook Park, Jae Hyun Bae, Youngkyu Lee, Gilhwan Lee, Young Jun Park, Chan Ho 2025-12-23T02:30:07Z 2025-12-23T02:30:07Z 2025-12-19 2026-01 2050-7488 https://pubs.kist.re.kr/handle/201004/153841 Nitrogen (N)-doped carbon materials have gained significant attention as promising electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), yet their practical deployment is hindered by high synthesis cost and insufficient electrochemical stability. Herein, we introduce a polymer-assisted strategy leveraging poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) as both an N precursor and dispersing agent, enabling controlled N incorporation (1–2 at%) and homogeneous catalyst dispersion. The strong affinity of P4VP for graphitic surfaces mitigates aggregation, facilitating homogeneous doping and enhanced electrochemical durability. The catalyst demonstrates exceptional durability, exhibiting only a 4% voltage loss at 0.8 A cm−2 after 30 000 cycles while retaining over 50% of its initial electrochemically active surface area (ECSA), whereas the N-free counterpart suffers a severe 39% voltage loss, highlighting the crucial role of N doping introduced via P4VP in enhancing electrochemical stability. This work establishes polymer-assisted N doping as a cost-effective strategy for durable, high-performance PEMFC electrocatalysts. English Royal Society of Chemistry Selective nitrogen doping on porous hard carbons using polymer dopants for high-performance fuel cells Article 10.1039/d5ta08085a 1 Journal of Materials Chemistry A, v.14, no.3, pp.1712 - 1721 Journal of Materials Chemistry A 14 3 1712 1721 N scie scopus 001624996000001 2-s2.0-105022900058 Chemistry, Physical Energy & Fuels Materials Science, Multidisciplinary Chemistry Energy & Fuels Materials Science Article GRAPHENE SUPPORT METAL CATALYSTS ELECTROCATALYSTS NANOTUBES SULFUR OXYGEN REDUCTION REACTION ALLOY NANOPARTICLES FUNCTIONAL-GROUPS