Unraveling the Origin of Sulfur‐Doped Fe‐N‐C Single‐Atom Catalyst for Enhanced Oxygen Reduction Activity: Effect of Iron Spin‐State Tuning

Abstract

Abstract Heteroatom doped atomically dispersed Fe 1 ‐NC catalysts have been found to show excellent activity toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, the origin of the enhanced activity is still controversial because the structure‐function relationship governing the enhancement remains elusive. Herein, sulfur( S )‐doped Fe 1 ‐NC catalyst was obtained as a model, which displays a superior activity for ORR towards the traditional Fe‐NC materials. 57 Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed that incorporation of S in the second coordination sphere of Fe 1 ‐NC can induce the transition of spin polarization configuration. Operando 57 Fe Mössbauer spectra definitively identified the low spin single‐Fe 3+ ‐atom of C‐FeN 4 ‐S moiety as the active site for ORR. Moreover, DFT calculations unveiled that lower spin state of the Fe center after the S doping promotes OH* desorption process. This work elucidates the underlying mechanisms towards S doping for enhancing ORR activity, and paves a way to investigate the function of broader heteroatom doped Fe 1 ‐NC catalysts to offer a general guideline for spin‐state‐determined ORR.