Biomolecule-doped PEDOT with three-dimensional nanostructures as efficient catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

Metal macro-cyclic compounds have drawn considerable attention as alternative catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction. However, the continuous pyrolysis process usually needed for improving the performance of these compounds require an elevated temperature and complicated procedures, thus leading to an unpredictable transformation of the chemical structures and limiting their applications. Herein, we develop a new insight to fabricating hemin-doped poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) with controllable three-dimensional nanostructures via a one-step, tri-phase, self-assembled polymerization routine. We demonstrate that the hemin-induced synergistic effect results in a very high 4-electron oxygen reduction activity, a better stability, and free from methanol crossover effects even in a neutral phosphate buffer solution (PBS). A one-step, self-assembling route is developed to controllably polymerize hemin-doped PEDOT with three-dimensional hierarchical nanostructures, which exhibit excellent catalytic performance comparable to commercial Pt/C electrodes for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) with a better stability and free from methanol crossover effects even in neutral media.